Out-of-pocket costs you can claim

Out-of-pocket costs are the everyday expenses a road accident causes that are easy to forget once the bigger bills are dealt with. Each one is generally recoverable as part of special damages, provided you can show it with a receipt or record.^[1] Individually small, these costs often add up to a meaningful part of a claim.

Costs people often forget to claim

• Parking fees at the hospital or clinic during treatment.
• Over-the-counter medication or dressings not covered by the hospital.
• A damaged phone, watch, helmet or clothing worn during the accident.
• Cleaning or repair costs for items damaged in the crash.
• The cost of obtaining copies of medical records or reports.
• Reasonable transport costs for someone accompanying you to treatment, where genuinely needed.

Why these small costs are worth claiming

None of these individually changes the shape of a claim, but together they represent real money spent because of the accident. Leaving them out because they feel too minor to mention generally means leaving real, provable losses unclaimed.

What distinguishes this from your medical bills

Medical bills are usually the largest and most obvious item within special damages. Out-of-pocket costs are the smaller, everyday expenses around the edges of treatment that are easy to overlook once the main bills are handled.

How to actually keep track

Keeping receipts for your claim covers a simple system for this. The habit that matters most is recording a cost the same day it happens, rather than trying to remember it weeks later.

What to do next

Special damages explains the legal category these costs sit within, and how compensation is worked out shows where this fits among the other heads of loss in a road accident claim.