Get Ahead in Your Personal Injury Case

What An Auto Accident Lawsuit Does Not Cover

27 April 2016 by Kenneth Pierce

When you hire an auto accident attorney, you should be made aware of the limitations of your lawsuit. There are some things for which you cannot sue, and there may be some limitations under the law regarding the maximum amounts of compensation for which you can sue. Here are some of the more standard limitations you can expect in an auto accident lawsuit.

Any Amounts Covered by Your Insurance

As a driver, you may have some medical coverage under your auto insurance plan. This amount kicks in after your medical insurance pays for the expenses they (medical insurance providers) cover. After your health and medical insurance and the medical riders on your auto insurance have paid your bills, if you still have some big co-pays or medical bills left, then these are the amounts you can include in your lawsuit. The courts will not pay you two or three times over for your current medical bills, and your lawyer will need to provide proof of the payments sent by your insurance companies to cover your bills so that the judge can make a fair and equitable judgement.

Likewise, you can only sue for the damages to your vehicle if your vehicle was a total loss and the sum given you by the insurance company does not cover its replacement. Your insurance company may pursue their own lawsuit against the other driver or the other driver's insurance, but the only payment you see is that which was agreed upon when you signed your insurance policy with the auto insurance company. You may sue for the amount of your deductible in some areas, but only if the deductible is more than you can afford and causes significant financial hardship for you and your family.

No Amount in Excess of Wages Lost

While it is certainly true that you can sue for lost wages if an accident causes you to miss work, you cannot sue in excess of the wages you earn. Most states will only allow you to sue for your hourly wage multiplied by the total number of hours worked. Your boss would have record of the total hours missed, and you and your auto accident attorney would have to get that documentation to present in court. If you are a salaried employee, then your monthly or annual salary would have to be divided by the number of days in a month or year, and then the days or half-days that you missed is what you can include in your lawsuit. If you lost your job because you were in a coma or in the hospital for a long time after the accident, then you may be able to seek compensation for lost wages plus what is commonly given as a severance package with the company for which you work. Click here for more information.

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