Types of Personal Injury Compensation

You could be qualified for compensation if sustained an injury due to the negligence or wrongdoing of a third party. Learn more about the types of damages you may get by speaking with a personal injury attorney near you.

There are two major kinds of damages that could be awarded in personal injury lawsuit injury cases including economic and non-economic damages. This article will examine these categories and explain how they could impact the amount of compensation you are entitled to recover.

Economic Damages

A person could be entitled to financial damages when they are injured in an accident. These damages could include medical expenses, lost earnings, and property damage.

These types of damage can be expensive, especially when there are serious injuries. This is because they will require intensive treatment. As they recover, victims might need to pay for mobility equipment or prescription medications.

These costs can quickly accumulate, so it is important to keep receipts. These receipts will help you establish the value of your losses and increase your compensation.

Other forms of economic damages in personal injury cases include loss of earnings and future income. This is due to the fact that a victim could be not working for months, weeks or even years after an accident. In these instances the victim must receive the amount they could have earned if they had been able to work.

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

Many people also require assistance in the activities they did prior to their accident. These could include household chores, driving and taking care of the environment, and taking care of the family member who is dependent.

In these instances the attorney might be capable of providing receipts, bills as well as other evidence of the cost of these items. They can also engage experts to testify regarding the value of these damages.

These damages can be valued differently based on the specific needs of the victim and personal injury the circumstances surrounding the incident. A jury will typically consider a wide range of factors when determining an award for economic damages.

These damages can include:

The two most painful aspects of life are suffering and pain

It is usually granted to victims of serious accidents who have suffered physical or emotional injuries as a result of the accident. These awards can range from relatively small (a couple of dollars for suffering and pain) to huge amounts of money (millions of dollars in a wrongful death case).

Emotional distress

This type of damages compensates victims for emotional stress caused by an injury. This includes depression, anxiety and loss of enjoyment.

Disfigurement

An injured person who has been permanently damaged by an accident could be eligible for this. It is a costly procedure since many people require surgery and other treatments to repair or remove disfigurements.

Loss of consortium and companionship

The damages award is intended to compensate the loss of loved ones due to the accident. This is especially crucial for those who have dependents or children.

The awarding of non-economic damages is a separate part of the legal system as opposed to economic damages, and it is more difficult to obtain. While they can have an additional burden of proof however, non-economic damages are typically more difficult to determine and are not subject to the same limitations as economic damages.