The short answer to this question is simple. It depends. It depends on just some of the following:
- Severity of your injury,
- Length of your illness
- Permanent or temporary injury
- Whether you missed time from work and whether it can be justified by a doctor based upon your condition
- Whether there was a death. If so, then the full value of the life, funeral and burial expenses, and pain and suffering if the person suffered before their death
- The severity of the property damage
- Whether liability or fault is clear
- The insurance company.
The list goes on and on and no two cases are alike. Books are written on the subject and many hours of continuing legal education are spent trying to determine just these issues. It is not an exact science as you can readily see.
The category of damages depends upon the type of case you have. For most but not all auto accident cases, you can recover:
- Repairs or Replacement of your vehicle
- Reasonable cost of replacement transportation while your vehicle is being fixed
- Diminished Value of your car
- Prescription Costs
- Medical Bills-Past, present and future
- Pain and Suffering
- Lost Wages
- Loss of Consortium if there is a spouse involved
- Full Value of the Life if death is involved
- Funeral and burial expenses if death involved
- Any incidental expenses such as mileage, hotels, etc while seeing doctors or obtaining treatment
- Cost of medically necessary devices
- Loss of ability to earn income
- Disfigurement
These are some of the categories of damages that may be recovered. As with all cases, it depends on the case.