When you suffer harm due to another’s negligent actions, your injuries can result in significant monetary expenses and losses. Medical bills can continue to pile up as you miss more paychecks while waiting to settle your accident claim. These financial costs may have motivated you to seek compensation through an injury claim.
The costs that have the greatest impact on your financial state are out-of-pocket expenses. These are the costs you pay using your own bank balance or credit. You then include them with your injury claim and wait for reimbursement. Once spent, this money is unavailable to use for medical treatment or necessities like rent and food until you settle or win your case.
Economic Losses and Out-of-Pocket Expenses
To understand out-of-pocket expenses, you must first understand economic losses.
Economic losses represent the hard costs of your injuries, including all of the following:
- Expenses you paid or will pay
- Debts you incurred or will incur
- Income you fail to earn
You can contrast economic and non-economic losses. Non-economic losses represent the human costs of your injuries, such as the physical pain, mental anguish, and reduced quality of life that result from being hurt.
Out-of-pocket expenses are a particular type of economic loss, and any other source, such as health insurance does not cover them. They are also not speculative. You know that you have paid them or will pay them.
Suppose, for instance, that you broke your glasses in a car accident. Since you needed new glasses, you went ahead and bought them. The cost of your new glasses then becomes an out-of-pocket expense.
By contrast, out-of-pocket expenses would not include unpaid costs or expenses for which you received a bill but only plan to pay after you receive your injury settlement or damage award. These expenses still qualify as economic losses, but they were not paid out of pocket.
Healthcare Expenses
The expenses you incur to access medical treatment can qualify as out-of-pocket costs. Examples include the following:
- Health insurance copayment
- First aid supplies, like bandages or antibiotic ointment
- Over-the-counter medication
- Ambulance fees
- Durable medical equipment, like wheelchairs or home hospital bed rentals
- Travel expenses to reach treatment or therapy that’s not available locally
Most of these expenses are self-explanatory. For those that require additional justification, you can have your doctor testify to explain them.
Replacement Services
You may need to replace the services you cannot perform due to your injuries. You can include the costs of these services in your out-of-pocket expenses.
These replacement services costs might consist of:
- Childcare
- Cooking
- Cleaning
- Home repair
- Auto maintenance
- Transportation
For example, suppose that your pedestrian accident resulted in a broken leg. If you need to use rideshares for eight weeks until your cast comes off, you can include the costs among your out-of-pocket expenses.
Disability Accommodations
You may need to modify your vehicle or home to accommodate your disabilities. The cost of these projects can qualify as an out-of-pocket expense.
For instance, you might be reimbursed for modifications such as:
- Grab bar
- Vehicle wheelchair lift
- Lowered counters
- Ramps
If you have a temporary disability, you might need a statement or testimony from your doctor to justify these modifications.
Getting Reimbursed for Out-of-Pocket Costs
To qualify for reimbursement, an out-of-pocket payment must be reasonable, necessary, and caused by the at-fault party’s actions. Reasonableness is an objective standard. A cost is reasonable if an ordinary person would not think that you overpaid.
Necessary does not mean you will die without it. Instead, it means it relates to your injuries in a logical way. For example, a neck brace might be a necessary expense after you strain your neck in a slip and fall accident. However, an insurance adjuster or jury might find weekly neck massages unnecessary.
You establish causation by showing that the expense flowed naturally and logically from the other party’s actions. You must also prove that the other person’s actions made the expense reasonably foreseeable. This does not necessarily mean that the other person predicted your injuries. Instead, it means their actions were the type that would foreseeably result in injuries.
To get reimbursed for your out-of-pocket expenses, you must track them. Specifically, you need evidence showing the amount and reason for the expenditure.
This evidence typically includes the following financial records:
- Receipts
- Bank statements
- Credit card statements
You will provide these records to your lawyer so they can seek reimbursement for them.
A Personal Injury Lawyer Can Help You Recover Out-of-Pocket Expenses
You and your lawyer will discuss your losses early on in your case. The lawyer will help you understand which expenses you can recover so that you can track them throughout the process.
Then, your attorney will include these expenses in your insurance claim. And if the claim gets denied, they can assert them in your lawsuit. To learn more about these expenses and how to recover them, talk to an experienced injury attorney. Our Orlando personal injury lawyers at Norden Leacox Accident & Injury Law offer free consultations so everyone can make informed decisions about your case. Contact us online or call us at (407)-801-3000 today to receive help.