What Kind of Damages Are Covered For Broken Ribs in a Vehicle Accident?
After a car accident, the compensation you could receive varies based on several factors, including whether your injury caused you to miss work and whether you required medical care.
To get a better estimate of how much compensation you could recover for bruised ribs, a car accident attorney can help. They have formulas and tools to get an estimated value of your case and could help you file an insurance claim or personal injury lawsuit.
Types of Compensation You Could Recover After Sustaining Bruised Ribs in a Car Accident
While bruised ribs don’t typically require surgery or other intensive medical interventions, you could still rack up medical bills. For example, sustaining bruised ribs in a car accident can cause intense pain. Not only would you have to pay for pain medication, but you could also have bills for testing to diagnose your injury.
You could recover both economic and non-economic damages when it comes to bruised ribs. Economic damages provide compensation for your monetary losses. Non-economic damages provide compensation for losses that aren’t so tangible.
Economic Damages
The law defines economic damages as damages you can easily quantify. Therefore, their value doesn’t get left to interpretation. Typically, you would have documentation (such as bills or receipts) proving the value of your loss.
Examples of economic damages for bruised ribs could include:
- Medical expenses: To determine whether you have bruised ribs and not a more severe injury, medical professionals could perform diagnostic tests, such as x-rays or CT scans. These tests could cost you out-of-pocket and can be expensive. Bruised ribs can also cause a lot of pain. You could require prescription or over-the-counter medications to help relieve that pain. You could recover compensation for any medical expenses you had to pay.
- Lost income: Treatment for bruised ribs often requires rest. If you have to miss work while recovering from your injury, you could pursue compensation for your lost earnings.
A Fort Lauderdale car accident attorney could help you identify any losses you’ve experienced and determine their value. This can provide you with a closer estimate of the compensation you could recover.
Non-Economic Damages
Non-economic damages provide you with compensation for losses that don’t come with a receipt and are harder to quantify, including:
- Physical pain: While bruised ribs typically heal within three to six weeks, you could go through excruciating pain during that time. According to the Mayo Clinic, even taking small breaths could cause you to feel the pain and discomfort of your bruised ribs. You could recover compensation for the physical pain and suffering you experience.
- Emotional anguish: Traumatic car accidents can cause negative psychological issues. If your injury caused mental health issues like anxiety or depression, you could recover compensation for emotional anguish damages.
To determine how much compensation you could recover for bruised ribs in a car accident, a Miami car accident lawyer can calculate the value of your economic and non-economic damages.
How to File a Bruised Rib Injury Claim
To file an injury claim to recover compensation for your bruised ribs, it’s helpful to speak to a Florida accident attorney. Car accident attorneys can take the following steps to move your case forward:
- Speaking to the insurance company: Insurance companies often try to offer a low settlement amount to resolve the case quickly and pay less. A Florida car accident lawyer can help ensure you don’t accept less than you deserve by speaking to the insurance company on your behalf.
- Sending a demand letter: A demand letter outlines the compensation you seek to recover because of your injuries. An attorney can draft that letter and provide evidence proving you sustained the losses for the compensation you seek.
- Negotiating with the insurance company: If the insurance company refuses to pay the amount in the demand letter, an attorney can negotiate to reach a fair agreement.
- File a lawsuit: If the insurance company still refuses to pay a fair amount for your losses, an attorney can file a lawsuit against them. They can fill out the necessary paperwork and build a strong case. During the court appearance, they can present your case to prove you deserve the compensation you seek.
If you sustained injuries in a car accident, an attorney could help significantly. They can pursue your compensation while you continue to heal.
Contact a Car Accident Attorney After Sustaining Bruised Ribs
At the Law Offices of Wolf & Pravato, we’re proud to represent personal injury cases. We treat clients like family and provide responsive and prompt communication. Contact us online or call us at (954) 633-8270 for your free consultation. We can answer your questions and provide information about how to move forward with a claim or lawsuit.
