Out-of-pocket expenses
In plain English: out-of-pocket expenses are the everyday costs you've paid yourself because of your accident. They're usually small on their own, but over months of recovery they can add up to a real sum.
What people usually claim
- Travel: mileage to medical appointments, hospital parking, taxis or rideshares while you couldn't drive, public transport fares.
- Medical extras: prescription charges, painkillers, dressings, braces, slings, hot and cold packs.
- Treatment you paid for: private physio, counselling, massage recommended by your doctor, insurance co-pays and deductibles.
- Damaged belongings: clothes cut off in A&E, broken glasses, a cracked phone, a car seat that has to be replaced after a crash.
- Help you paid for: childcare, pet sitting, a cleaner or gardener while you recovered.
- Admin costs: fees for copies of medical records or the police report, postage, phone calls.
The test every expense has to pass
Two questions: was it caused by the accident, and was it reasonable? A taxi to the hospital when you couldn't drive is easy. Daily taxis for everything, when a bus would have worked and you were able to use it, may get challenged. Ordinary living costs you'd have paid anyway aren't claimable, but the extra cost is. If you needed a larger size of clothing to fit over a cast, for example, the difference can count.
Receipts, and what to do without them
Receipts make these claims simple. Keep them all, from the first day, in one envelope or a folder on your phone. Photograph paper receipts as they fade. For mileage, keep a log: date, where you went, why and the distance.
If you've lost some receipts, don't leave the cost out. Bank and card statements, pharmacy records, parking app histories and appointment letters can fill the gaps. Many adjusters and courts will accept a reasonable estimate for small items when the rest of your record is well organised.
After a cycling accident, a nurse attends 18 physio sessions, three fracture clinic appointments and two scans across the city. Mileage, hospital parking and a few taxi fares on days she couldn't drive come to a noticeable total. She also claims her ruined cycling jacket, helmet and a replacement phone screen. None of it is dramatic, but all of it is her money.
Who pays first
Depending on where you live, some expenses may be paid early by your own insurer: through medical payments or PIP cover in the US, or accident benefits in Canadian provinces such as Ontario. In the UK, costs are usually claimed from the at-fault party's insurer as part of your special damages. Either way, keep your own record so nothing is missed at settlement.
A settlement is normally final. Add up every expense up to that date, and allow for ones you know are coming, before you accept.
Next: special damages · medical payments coverage · car accident claim workbook.
Related terms
General information, not legal or medical advice. Rules differ between US states, the UK and Canadian provinces, so check the law where your accident happened. How we write and check · Legal disclaimer