How can I recoupe loss of wages and other costs?
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How can I recoupe loss of wages and other costs?
I was working at Coachella festival and was staying in my motor home. I was parked in staff camping when my motor home was hit by a van. The speed limit was 5 mph. The damage he did to my motor home is $16,000. We turned it into our insurance so it is getting repaired but I am out wages and out of pocket costs that our insurance won’t reimburse. How can I recoupe my losses?
Asked on May 16, 2018 under Accident Law, California
Answers:
SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 6 years ago | Contributor
You an sue the at-fault driver (and anyone who hit a stationary object is almost by definition at fault, for driving carelessly or negligently) for any out-of-pocket costs or losses you incurred. But you must be able to prove a "foreseeable" (essentially predictable in advance) link between the accident and the loss, or else you cannot recover for it. You may have difficulty with the lost wages claim: it is not generally foreseeable that hitting a motor home causes someone to be unable to work and lose wages. Similarly, there also must be a logical causal link between the accident and the loss, and again, you may have difficulty showing how damage to a motor home necessarily caused a loss of wages.
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