After suffering injuries in a rideshare accident, you may have many questions about how to navigate your next steps and what compensation you could expect for the damages you sustained. After all, you may have high medical costs and considerable losses to deal with. How much is your Las Vegas rideshare case worth?
Several factors may affect the compensation you can recover after your accident.
Uber And Lyft Insurance
Uber and Lyft offer substantial insurance policies, with up to $1 million in coverage, that can help provide compensation when their drivers cause an accident. However, that does not automatically mean you can recover up to $1 million in damages related to your accident. Your actual compensation will depend on several factors, including the damages you sustained from the accident and even the number of people who suffered injuries.
Furthermore, you may need to take into consideration who caused your accident. If the other driver caused your Uber or Lyft accident, you might need to start by pursuing compensation through that driver’s insurance policy.
A Note on Nevada MedPay Insurance
Many Nevada drivers choose to carry MedPay, or medical payments, insurance as part of their car insurance coverage. MedPay insurance kicks in immediately after an accident, allowing you to take care of the treatment cost associated with your injuries up front instead of having to wait on a claim to settle.
MedPay insurance can streamline the treatment process and decrease stress for many drivers in Nevada. If you carry MedPay coverage and you suffer injuries in a rideshare accident in Las Vegas, you may use your MedPay coverage to cover medical treatments following your accident.
Calculating the Value of Your Las Vegas Rideshare Accident Claim
A lawyer cannot guarantee the value of your Las Vegas rideshare accident claim. Many factors can contribute to the compensation you can ultimately recover, including whether you have a lawyer on your side. However, most rideshare accident claims will include the same general compensation elements. A lawyer can help you break down the specific losses you suffered from your Las Vegas rideshare accident.
Your Medical Costs
For most Las Vegas rideshare accident victims, the medical costs associated with the accident will top the list of expenses for which the victim needs compensation. Medical costs often form the foundation of a rideshare accident claim. Calculating your medical costs gives you a better idea of what your claim may look like.
Make sure you keep track of all medical expenses associated with your claim as they come in. In many cases, you can end up with multiple bills for the same procedure or lose track of the bills from your accident, especially if you have needed considerable treatment for your injuries.
Emergency Medical Care
Emergency care after a rideshare accident can hit harder than you anticipated. According to Las Vegas standards, Ambulance fees can rise to as high as $1,298.50 for emergency response.
Then, you may head into the University Medical Center Adult Emergency Room or MountainView Hospital Emergency Room for treatment. In the emergency room, you may receive immediate procedures designed to help protect your quality of life or to keep you alive, as well as an initial diagnosis for your injuries. Severe injuries may require immediate surgery. Those costs can add up quickly.
Hospitalization
Following many types of Las Vegas rideshare accident injuries, you may need to spend time in the hospital recovering. Some of those days may even include a stay in the ICU. The average stay in the hospital for insured individuals costs around $14,000. Those costs can rise exponentially if you need continuing procedures and support or higher-level care during your hospital stay.
Durable Medical Equipment
Depending on your injuries in your Las Vegas rideshare accident, you may need durable medical equipment to help you get around or support your overall mobility and independence after the accident. For example, some people, including those with back or spinal cord injuries, may need to use a wheelchair after the accident. If you suffer injuries that will decrease your mobility, you may need specialty equipment in your home to help you get around. Durable medical equipment may include oxygen equipment, commode chairs, or any device intended to help with mobility and independence after a devastating accident.
Therapy
In many cases, after a devastating accident, you will end up needing therapy to help you restore your strength and mobility. Physical therapy focuses on helping to rebuild the body after an injury. It may help restore flexibility or rebuild strength in the injured area of the body. Physical therapy can greatly assist many victims as they recover, and many types of injuries may require ongoing sessions with a physical therapist.
Occupational therapy focuses on helping an accident victim learn how to cope with the limitations that went along with the accident. In many cases, accident victims will find they can no longer perform the same actions they did before the accident. Occupational therapy can help them learn how to manage despite those limitations. For example, an occupational therapist might offer organization and support strategies for a patient with a brain injury or help a patient with a spinal cord injury learn how to function from a wheelchair.
Many accident victims will also require psychological therapy. Some patients may suffer from an increased risk of PTSD, depression, or anxiety after the accident. Others may struggle to cope with the limitations imposed by the accident. Working with a psychological therapist can give them the tools they need to handle those mental struggles.
In-home Care
In many cases, patients who suffer severe injuries will find that they need more care and support at home than before the accident. Some patients will need someone to stop in periodically to provide some assistance and may opt for a home nurse or home services provider to stop by every few days to help with dressing changes or wound care. Other patients, including those who may have suffered severe traumatic brain injury, may need ongoing care and support.
Your Income Losses
After a Las Vegas rideshare accident, you may want to return to work as quickly as possible. Not only does going back to work provide a sense of normalcy, but it may also provide many people with the income they need to pay their bills, including the high medical bills that may keep coming in after the accident. Unfortunately, many injuries may make it difficult for patients to return to work.
For example, a patient with broken bones may find it very difficult to walk around a warehouse or store all day and struggle to take on any heavy lifting responsibilities. A patient with back and neck injuries may have to sit out many of his usual job duties, including moving even moderately heavy items. A patient with a brain injury may find it very difficult to focus on the work presented to him or struggle to deal reasonably with customers in a customer service role due to challenges in emotional regulation.
You can claim compensation for the income losses you faced because of your rideshare accident. Talk to your lawyer about the common things that may have caused you to miss work.
Time off Immediately After the Accident
Many people cannot go straight back to work after a serious accident. You may need to focus heavily on your recovery in those early days. You may not return to the office for weeks after the initial accident. In some cases, you may spend months in recovery.
Vacation Time Used for Your Recovery
You may use your paid time off to generate income during your recovery. While that can help provide you with ongoing income, making it easier to manage your bills while you recover, you may run out of vacation time, which means you will not have that time to use for family events and vacations later. Talk to your lawyer about including lost time off as part of your claim.
Missed Time for Appointments
When many people go back to the office after a rideshare accident in Las Vegas, they still have to recover. That may mean continuing time off, including time missed for therapy appointments, follow-up visits, or even future procedures. For example, you may know that you need to have surgery several weeks after the accident but go back to work in the meantime.
Shortened Hours
Sometimes, while you might feel strong enough to return to work on a part-time basis, you may not have the strength needed to return to work full-time. Those shortened hours may cut into your vacation time or leave you short of your usual pay during the recovery process. Talk to your lawyer about those shortened hours and how they have impacted your income.
Your Pain and Suffering
Most elements that go into a personal injury claim after a rideshare accident have a direct financial correlation. You know how much you have spent on your medical bills and how much income you have missed out on because of the accident, or you can calculate those amounts to file your claim.
In addition to compensation for those financial losses, however, you may deserve compensation for the suffering you had to deal with after the accident. Talk to your lawyer about how your accident has impacted you.
Physical Pain
Obviously, you may want to talk to your lawyer about the physical pain you suffered from your injuries. Many injuries can cause substantial physical suffering, for which you may deserve compensation.
Emotional Anguish
Talk to your lawyer about the emotional struggles that have gone along with your injuries. For example, you may have struggled with the loss of independence that accompanied your injuries or had difficulty feeling confined during your recovery. Keeping a journal throughout your recovery can make it easier to identify the specific elements you struggled with most after your accident.
Changed Relationships
Severe injuries can have a substantial impact on many of your relationships. You may find, for example, that you have to rely more heavily on your spouse and children than ever before or that you no longer connect with your friends the way you did before the accident. Talk to your lawyer about your accident’s impact on your relationships and how it has impacted you.
A Lawyer Can Calculate the Compensation You Deserve After Your Las Vegas Rideshare Accident
Ed Bernstein, Las Vegas Rideshare Accident Lawyer
After a Las Vegas rideshare accident, working with a lawyer can help you calculate the compensation you deserve.
A Lawyer Can Identify the Compensation You Deserve
A lawyer can work with you to identify all the areas in which you should pursue compensation after your accident. In many cases, rideshare accident victims miss out on compensation they might otherwise recover because they fail to break down all those vital areas of compensation.
A Lawyer Can Help You Feel Confident in Dealing With the Insurance Company
You know what your losses looked like after your rideshare accident. However, the insurance company may seem determined to limit your compensation for those injuries. A lawyer can help you feel more confident in those ongoing dealings with the insurance company. A Las Vegas personal injury lawyer can also fight for you and increase the odds that you will recover the compensation you deserve.
If you suffered injuries in a rideshare accident, a lawyer can help you determine what your claim should look like. Contact an attorney as soon as possible to move forward with your claim.
