Damages in Your Personal Injury Case

If you have been injured in an accident, and another party is to blame, you may be able

to obtain monetary damages from that person or business to compensate you for

medical expenses, loss of income and pain and suffering as a result of the accident.

There are a variety of types of damages allowed in personal injury cases. Those

damages can be divided into several categories. First, there are compensatory damages

and punitive damages. There are also two types of compensatory damages: economic

and non-economic.

Compensatory damages are damages that are intended to compensate a person for a

loss or problem relating to a personal injury, including monetary losses, pain and

suffering and physical impairment. Punitive damages are intended to punish the

negligent party for its wrongdoing, and aren’t specifically related to a loss the plaintiff

suffered.

For example, if a company decided to dump toxic waste

into a creek instead of disposing of it safely, and as a

result a woman living next to the creek developed cancer,

her compensatory damages may include amounts for her

medical expenses, her lost wages, and her pain and

suffering. In addition to these damages, the jury may also

decide to award punitive damages, which are strictly

intended to punish the company for its wrongdoing.

Punitive damages are somewhat rare – in most cases,

plaintiffs only receive compensatory damages.

Compensatory damages can be further divided into

economic damages and non-economic damages. Economic damages are those damages

that result in an identifiable economic loss. For example, economic damages include

medical expenses, lost wages, the cost of hiring a helper or nurse, and the cost of special

transportation or medical equipment that’s needed as a result of the accident.

Non-economic damages are damages for harm relating to the injury sustained that are

difficult to quantify using a specific dollar amount. Instead, non-economic damages are

awarded to a person who has suffered a diminished quality of life as a result of the

accident. Some examples of non-economic damages include emotional distress, pain

and suffering, embarrassment or humiliation, loss of enjoyment of life, loss of

consortium (sexual relations) and scarring or disfigurement. Although non-economic

losses can be difficult to quantify, they are an important component of a personal injury

case.

For more Information, Please Visit us at http://attorneypeterjohnson.com/ or Call

(269) 982-1100.