Can I Claim Property Damage After My Car Accident?

After your car accident, your Personal Injury Protection (PIP) coverage may financially compensate you for your medical bills, lost wages, and any other related economic damages. However, you may need to pursue a separate legal action against the negligent driver if you wish to recover from your vehicle’s damages and other non-economic damages. Without further ado, please read on to discover how to effectively claim property damage and how a seasoned Tampa car accident lawyer at Merricks Law Group, P.A., can help you get the aid you so desperately require.

What types of property damage can I claim after my car accident?

First of all, in the state of Florida, registered drivers are required to carry a minimum of $10,000 of property damage liability coverage per accident. This means that an at-fault driver may be expected to pay another driver up to this amount to repair their vehicle and other property. But unfortunately, especially in the event of a catastrophic car crash, this may not be enough to cover the full extent of what you lost. And so, you may need to pursue a separate property damage claim against the negligent driver. Here, you may claim the following types of relevant property damage:

• The cost of repairing your vehicle (i.e., dents, broken windshield, mechanical issues, etc).
• The cost of replacing your vehicle if it is declared a total loss.
• The cost of your vehicle’s diminished value after its accident and repair history.
• The cost of the damaged personal property within your vehicle (i.e., phone, laptop, handbag, car seats, etc).
• The cost of your rental car and rental car insurance while your owned car is getting repaired.
• The cost of towing or storing your vehicle immediately following the accident event.

What other types of damages can I sue for after my car accident?

To reiterate, your PIP coverage will not financially compensate you for your non-economic damages. But if these affect your life just the same as your economic damages, you should fight to earn compensation for them through a third-party personal injury claim against the negligent driver. Examples of common non-economic damages that arise after a car accident are as follows:

• Your physical pain and emotional suffering.
• Your post-traumatic stress, anxiety, and depression.
• Your diminished quality of life.
• Your bodily disfigurement and its associated shame.

Your employed lawyer may use the multiplier method to determine the total cost of your non-economic damages. With this, they may take the total of your economic damages (i.e., medical bills, lost wages, property damages, etc.) and multiply it by a factor between one to five, depending on how significant they deemed your claimed non-economic losses to be. To ensure your legal argument is well fleshed out, please seek the aid of a competent Tampa auto accident lawyer. You may rest better knowing that the team at Merricks Law Group, P.A., will not let you enter this legal battle without being properly prepared. So please pick up the phone and request our services today.