The aftermath of an injury can leave you in a devastating mess. It's not just the medical bills and lost wages, but also the pain, suffering, and other emotional turmoil the injury might have plunged you into. You can recover damages for all of these losses (financial, physical, and emotional) in a personal injury lawsuit.
Let's break it all down.
First, What Are "Damages"
Damages refer to the compensation you receive for the harm someone else's negligence caused you. If someone's action or inaction led to your injury, you can recover various forms of damages through a personal injury lawsuit.
These damages may include economic, non-economic, and punitive damages, depending on the circumstances of the accident.
For example, say a reckless driver rams into your car. This results in you fracturing an arm and suffering PTSD every time you step into a vehicle. You may be entitled to compensation covering not only the amount you spend treating your arm, but also for the agonizing experience of the PTSD episodes, even though placing a monetary value on this poses a challenge.
In the event your injuries are very severe, punitive damages may be awarded, too.
Damages in personal injury are classified into the two main categories: Compensatory and Punitive Damages
1. Compensatory Damages
This type of damages is designed to compensate you for your losses due to someone's negligence. It is further broken down into economic and non-economic damages.
Economic damages: The money you can count
Economic damages are compensation for losses that have a clear dollar amount - direct expenses resulting from the injury, which is why you must keep every receipt. Economic damages are also called special damages. They include:
- Medical bills. This includes costs of both past and future medical care. If your injury would require ongoing care, such as a lost limb, this will be calculated and awarded to you. Prescription drugs, wheelchairs, doctor appointments, everything is factored in. For as many years as you would need medical care.
- Lost wages. If your injury prevents you from working for some time, the at-fault party would reimburse the total amount you would have earned otherwise.
- Property damage. This includes repair costs for your vehicle, house, or other property damaged in the accident.
- Cost of disability. If you have to renovate your house for accessibility due to disability, hire a driver or in-home assistance because the injury incapacitates you, the cost is also included as special damages.
Non-economic damages: Losses difficult to measure
Some of the most challenging aftermaths of an injury cannot be added up on a calculator, but that doesn't mean they don't count. Non-economic damages are designed to compensate personal injury victims for the emotional suffering they have to cope with for the rest of their lives.
Non-economic damages are also called general damages, and they include:
- Pain and suffering. This covers the physical pain. A broken leg? Surgery? It's excruciating, and you deserve to be compensated.
- Emotional distress. Numerous personal injury victims have been left battling with post-traumatic stress disorder and anxiety, which impedes quality of life. Personal injury law recognizes such damages.
- Loss of enjoyment. If an injury prevents you from participating in activities that make life enjoyable, such as dancing and sports, you may be entitled to compensation.
- Loss of consortium. Severe injuries and disabilities can forever damage the dynamics of a marriage. For example, the healthy spouse may no longer be able to enjoy affection and sexual intimacy from the injured one. The healthy partner may be entitled to damages.
As you have seen, not every type of damage has a quantifiable value. In such instances, an injury attorney considers past cases and employs the multiplier method to evaluate your non-economic damages. This is one reason it's crucial to have an experienced Chicago personal injury attorney in your corner who strives to ensure you are awarded the full compensation you deserve. This is especially true for Israeli clients, who may face additional hurdles navigating an unfamiliar legal system while dealing with language barriers or cultural differences after an accident. A firm experienced in working with Chicago's Israeli community can help bridge that gap, ensuring nothing gets lost in translation when it comes to your claim.
2. Punitive damages
Punitive damages are awarded when the at-fault party behaved recklessly with obvious disregard for human life. This goes beyond negligence. Think drunk driving or a company that knowingly sold a toxic product.
As the name denotes, punitive damages are designed to punish the at-fault party and deter such behavior in the future.
Not every personal injury case involves punitive damages. In fact, it is rare and reserved for quite serious cases. Your injury attorney can evaluate your situation to determine if it's grounds for pursuing punitive damages.
Wrongful Death Damages
If the negligence of one party causes the death of another, the family of the deceased may file a wrongful death claim. This, of course, applies only when death is involved.
You can recover the following damages in a wrongful death lawsuit:
- Funeral expenses
- Loss of consortium if you're the deceased's partner
- Loss of financial support if the deceased was the breadwinner
Final Words
Every personal injury case is different, and you may face many walls against the defendant's insurance company or attorney. There are also statutes of limitations that spell out how long you have to file a claim, and complex state laws that influence how damages are calculated.
But however complex it gets, you shouldn’t settle for less than you deserve. Having a skilled personal injury attorney protecting your interests can be the ease you need in such emotionally trying times as you navigate recovery.
Frequently asked questions
What are the damages in a personal injury case?
Damages in a personal injury case are losses that you can recover. These include monetary damages (medical bills, lost wages, property damage) and non-monetary damages (pain & suffering, loss of enjoyment of life). In severe cases, you may also get punitive damages (to punish reckless parties).
How much do most personal injury cases settle for?
Most personal injury cases settle between $10,000 to $100,000 in damages. However, it largely depends on the injury's severity. While minor injuries usually settle below $25,000, severe injuries range between $100,000-$500,000, while we've had millions of dollars awarded for catastrophic injuries.
What's the biggest mistake people make when dealing with an insurance claim?
The biggest mistake we've seen victims make is giving a statement to the injurer's insurance company before speaking with an attorney. More often than not, the insurer records the statement and uses the victim's own words against them, reducing their claim.