Types of Personal Injury Compensation

If you've been injured because of the negligence of another person or their wrongdoing, you may be entitled to compensation. Contact an attorney who specializes in personal injury law firms injury near you to learn more about the potential damages you could be awarded.

There are two main types of damages that may be awarded in personal injury lawsuits including economic and non-economic damages. This article will look at these categories and discuss how they can impact the amount of compensation you're entitled to.

Economic Damages

If someone is injured in an accident, personal injury lawsuits they could be entitled for financial damages. These damages could include medical expenses, lost earnings, and property damage.

These types of damage can often be very expensive, particularly if there are serious injuries. This is due to the fact that they require extensive treatment. In addition to being hospitalized, victims might need to pay for prescription medication and mobility equipment as they recover.

These expenses can mount up quickly, so it is essential to keep receipts for them. These receipts will allow you to prove the true value of your losses and increase your compensation.

Other forms of economic damages in personal injury cases involve lost wages and future income. The reason for this is that victims can be out of work for weeks, months, and even years following an accident. In these instances the victim must receive the amount they would have earned if they could have worked.

If someone is disabled or the death of a family member occurs as the result of an accident, the victim could be eligible to receive damages for the services they received in life. These include home health care, nursing, and physical therapy services in addition to other services.

Many people require assistance with the same tasks they did before their accident. This includes house chores, driving a vehicle, caring for the outdoors and caring for a dependent family member.

In these instances an attorney might be capable of providing receipts, bills and other evidence of the cost of these items. They may also hire experts to testify about the value of these damages.

The amount of damages awarded can be determined differently depending on the specific requirements of the victim as well as the circumstances surrounding the accident. Typically, a jury will take into consideration a variety of factors when determining an award of economic damages.

These damages could include:

The two most painful things in life are suffering and pain

This award is usually awarded to those injured in serious accidents who are suffering physical or emotional injuries as a result of the accident. The awards can range from relatively minor (a few dollars for suffering and pain) to massive sums of money (millions of dollars in a wrongful death lawsuit).

Emotional distress

This kind of damage is aimed at compensating the emotional stress an injury causes a victim. This includes anxiety, depression and loss of enjoyment.

Disfigurement

An injured person who is permanently damaged as a result of an accident can receive this. This can be costly as many require surgery and other procedures to correct or remove disfigurements.

Loss of consortium and companionship

This damages award is designed to compensate the loss of loved ones as a result of the accident. This is particularly relevant when the victim has children or other dependents.

The awarding of non-economic damages is a separate part of the legal system from economic damages, and it is much more rare. Non-economic damages are subject to a higher burden of evidence, but they are usually more difficult to assess than economic damages, and are not restricted by the same rules.