Exploring The Different Types of Personal Injury Damages

When someone has been injured due to another person’s negligence, they may consider filing a personal injury claim. The injured need to file a personal injury claim because the accident they suffered results in injuries, and they will need to make sure that their medical bills are paid. They may also have lost property in the accident. For example, a car collision may have caused irreparable damage to the vehicle, and the injured party also deserves compensation for this fact. We will examine the types of damages you may be entitled to win in a personal injury case.

Different Types of Personal Injuries That Can Occur

The top types of personal injuries include the following:

• Injury Due to a Slip and Fall

• Injury Due to a dog bite 

• Injury Due to a Defective Product

• Injury Due to a Car Collision

• Injury Due to Medical Malpractice

• Injury Due to Someone’s Negligence

• Injury Due to Someone’s Intentional Behavior

• Injury Due to Misdiagnosis

• Injury Due to Dangerous Conditions at a Building or a House

Types of Damages for Personal Injury Accidents

What Are Damages?

When damages are awarded in a personal injury case, they are monetary compensation for the injuries that the plaintiff suffered. The defendant is the person found to be responsible for the accident that caused the injuries, so the defendant is the person who is responsible for paying monetary damages. Specifically, the defendant’s insurance company will pay the damages. 

Compensatory Damages

Compensatory damages are meant to return the plaintiff to the place he or she was before the accident occurred. The court does this by giving the plaintiff’s injuries a monetary value so that the money can restore the plaintiff’s emotional, physical and financial health. 

Special Damages

Special damages compensate the plaintiff for financial losses, including the following: 

• Funeral expenses

• The replacement or repair of property

• Lost wages

• The costs of adjusting to and living with a disability

• Medical expenses

General Damages

General damages can be difficult to quantify, but they include the following:

Loss of Consortium: These damages are for the spouse of a victim. They compensate the spouse for the loss of companionship, affection, comfort, solace, assistance and sexual relations. 

Pain and Suffering: These damages compensate the victim for physical pain and emotional distress, such as loss of enjoyment of life, anger, fear and frustration. 

Punitive Damages

Unlike compensatory damages, punitive damages do not compensate the victim for the injuries suffered. Punitive damages may be awarded as a punishment for the plaintiff for acting in a negligent, irresponsible or intentional manner. They are meant to dissuade the defendant and others in society from acting in the same way. 

Punitive damages are not always awarded in personal injury cases. They will be, however, if the judge believes that the defendant’s actions were particularly egregious or heinous. The court has the choice of limiting punitive damages, so the judge may limit them to less than 10 times the amount of the compensatory damages.  

Knowing how much money you can expect to be awarded can help you determine whether or not you will file a personal injury claim, but you must also consider how you will win your case. For this purpose, the best thing to do is to hire a personal injury lawyer.