The damages to which you may be entitled following a bus accident depend largely upon the nature and extent of the injuries that you suffered in your accident. Generally speaking, the more serious your injuries, and the more extensive the medical treatment you received, the more damages you are entitled to recover.
If you have been injured in a bus accident, there are several types of damages for which you may be eligible. The first category of damages is called economic damages. The primary purpose of economic damages is to make you whole following a bus accident that was caused by someone else’s negligence.
For example, you may recover compensation for any and all out-of-pocket expenses that you incurred for medical treatment, physical therapy, surgeries, or other medical procedures, such as injections. In addition, you may file a claim for any earnings that you lost as a result of the injuries you suffered in your bus accident. For example, the severity of your injuries may have prevented you from working, or you may have needed to miss time from your job to seek medical treatment or physical therapy.
In addition to these economic losses, you may file a claim for noneconomic damages for injuries that you suffered in your bus accident. Noneconomic damages compensate you for all of the inconvenience, aggravation, suffering, pain, and emotional distress that you incurred as a result of the injuries you suffered in your accident. You may also file a claim for permanent disabilities or damages that you suffered in your accident, as well as compensation for loss of spousal support or family companionship that resulted from your injuries.
Finally, after suffering injuries in a bus accident, you may file a claim for punitive damages. The purpose of punitive damages is to punish wrongdoing by the at-fault party. Punitive damages are available when one or more individuals act in a particularly egregious or reckless manner, resulting in the accident that led to your injuries. For example, punitive damages may be available in a bus accident case where the bus driver was intoxicated by drugs or alcohol at the time the accident occurred. An experienced bus accident lawyer can assist you with pursuing the monetary compensation that you deserve for the injuries that you suffered in your bus accident.
