
Any injury, even minor, can take a toll on your finances. Your injuries might diminish your income if they disable you from performing your job duties. You might also incur significant medical bills to treat or receive therapy for your injuries.
Expenses paid out of your pocket can create significant hardship because you lose those resources to pay for medical care or daily necessities. Importantly, these out-of-pocket costs can take many different forms. You must remain mindful of these costs so you can document them for your injury claim.
Why Should I Track Out-Of-Pocket Expenses?
A personal injury claim is a legal process for seeking compensation after you suffer an injury due to someone else’s negligent or wrongful action. The compensation in your claim can cover two types of losses. Economic losses represent your financial costs, such as medical expenses, lost income, and diminished earnings.
Non-economic losses encompass the human impact of your injuries. Specifically, they cover the diminishment in your quality of life due to your injuries.
Economic losses cover amounts you pay as well as those you are legally obligated to pay. Thus, your claim can include towing expenses you already paid and hospital bills you must pay. The amounts you already paid are “out-of-pocket” expenses.
You must document these expenses so you can include them in your injury claim. You can track them using the following financial records:
- Receipts
- Credit card and bank statements
- Personal financial records
Your insurance claim or lawsuit will include these records to prove the out-of-pocket losses you incurred.
What Qualifies As An Out-Of-Pocket Expense?
In order to qualify as an out-of-pocket expense, the expenditure must be connected to your injuries. Specifically, an expense must meet the following three criteria for you to include it in your injury claim:
- Reasonable
- Necessary
- Caused by the other party’s negligent act
A cost is reasonable when the amount is typical for the good or service you received. In other words, a cost is unreasonable when you overpaid. For example, suppose that you injured your neck in a rear-end collision. A hundred dollars per chiropractor session might be reasonable, while a few thousand dollars per session might be unreasonable.
Necessary costs do not mean you will die without it. Instead, it usually means the good or service was used to treat an injury or symptom caused by the other party’s negligence. For example, a nose job might be necessary if you broke it during your trip and fall accident. It might be unnecessary if you injured your knee rather than your face when you fell.
Courts have defined causation in many ways under Louisiana law. However, the core idea underlying most of these definitions is that the injuries were a natural and foreseeable result of the other party’s actions.
Thus, a cost incurred for a pre-existing wrist injury was not caused by the other party’s negligent driving. The same cost has a causal connection if you sprained your wrist in the crash.
Examples Of Out-Of-Pocket Costs
Out-of-pocket costs can take many of the following forms:
Medical Care
Suppose that you need first aid for your injuries. The money you spend for bandages and a sling could qualify as an out-of-pocket cost. The cost of more expensive equipment, like a wheelchair or home hospital bed, will also qualify.
Similarly, you can recover the amounts you spend accessing care. Thus, your claim can include amounts you pay out-of-pocket for health insurance copayments or to meet deductibles.
You can even seek compensation for travel expenses if you cannot get the treatment or therapy you need nearby. These expenses may include any reasonable and necessary costs, such as fuel, food, and hotels.
Replacement Services
You probably have many responsibilities outside of work. When you suffer an injury, you may be unable to perform these services and must hire someone to perform them. Some examples include the following:
- Childcare
- Cleaning
- Cooking
- Home maintenance
- Driving
In order to qualify, these expenses must arise after your injuries. If you hired a housekeeper to clean before your accident, you cannot claim the fee as an expense afterward.
Disability Accommodations
You may need to pay someone to modify your home or vehicle to accommodate any disabilities you suffered. You might install ramps to replace stairs or put bars beside your toilet. You might require hand controls and a wheelchair rack for your vehicle. The reasonable and necessary amounts you pay for these accommodations qualify as out-of-pocket expenses.
Talk To A Lawyer About Out-Of-Pocket Expenses
A lawyer can help you identify and track your out-of-pocket expenses. Equally importantly, they can prepare an insurance claim or lawsuit to pursue reimbursement for the amounts incurred. Speak to a lawyer at Mansfield Melancon Car Accident and Personal Injury Lawyers at (888) 601-0127 to learn more about recovering compensation for out-of-pocket expenses.