Damages that may be received in Fatal Car Accidents

Every day, at least one fatal Los Angeles car accident occurs along the city’s highways and interstates. There are a lot of factors as to why such accidents still occur. However, one thing is for sure: the victim of an accident deserves to be compensated upon.

Damages or compensation is awarded to the victim in order to restore their financial state before the accident occurred, and also to help them adjust to the new life that was changed by the accident. The damages are provided by the person who is at fault for the accident.

Car accidents fall under personal injury cases. And in this kind of lawsuit there are different types of damages that the victim can receive.

Compensatory Damages

These are awarded to the injured in order to replace the amount incurred by the injury and nothing more. The amount of the compensatory damage is based on fair market value and not on purchase price. There are two types of losses that are paid by these damages.

• Monetary – From the name itself, these losses are the amounts of money lost due to the injury. Monetary losses include the following.

o Cost of living with disability
o Funeral charge
o Lost wages
o Medical cost
o Property repair
• Non-Monetary – These losses cannot be measured financially. These include:
o Embarrassment
o Pain and suffering
o Loss of consortium

Punitive Damages

Otherwise known as non-compensatory or exemplary, punitive damages serve as punishment or a criminal fine paid by the person at fault for the accident. While accidents are considered an act of negligence rather than malicious, it still does not guarantee that the person liable won’t be slapped with this fine.

Nominal Damages

Nominal is a small amount given to the victim who may not have suffered a significant injury, but has been a victim in some other way (e.g. breach of duty). The amount will depend on the situation.

Treble Damages

A treble damage simply is the total amount of compensatory damages multiplied by three. Statute of certain cases allows courts to award the plaintiff treble damages.

Liquidated Damages

Liquidated damage is monetary compensation for the loss or injury of a person and property. A certain amount is awarded when contracts that involve money or action are breached by one of the parties involved. However, there are certain conditions that must be present in order for liquidated damages to be recognized.