4 Types of Compensatory Damages in Personal Injury Cases

You’ve been injured.

Now you’re ready to seek compensation for your pain. A good personal injury lawyer can help. Trying to deal with your medical care and negotiate your own settlement is difficult.

Compensatory Damages for Personal Injury

There are a range of compensatory damages that you can be awarded. Here’s what are.

1. Loss of Income

A serious injury can pull you from the workforce. If that happens, you deserve compensation to cover your lost wages.

If you know how much you would have earned while you were prevented from working, you can seek that money from the defendant.

If your injuries are so severe that you’ll never work again, you can ask for damages covering your entire potential future earnings. Being unable to work is a very big deal.

Loss of income also applies if someone died in the accident. Surviving family members can ask for the income that the compensatory damages deceased would have naturally earned.

2. Property Damage

If your property was destroyed or damaged in the accident, you can seek funds to cover the costs. One of the most common cases is a car accident.

You can sue to have your vehicle replaced. In addition to the costs of the vehicle itself, you can also include the costs of anything that was inside the car during the accident.

Transportation fees are wrapped up in property damage as well. You may need to rent a car or hire a driver to help you get around.

You’re not entitled to brand-new property unless the compensatory damages can’t be repaired.

3. Medical Expenses

Surprise medical expenses can cripple your finances. It’s often very expensive to treat serious injuries.

You deserve the best treatment. If that requires heavy expenses, the person or group who is liable for your injuries should have to pay.

Future medical costs are factored in as well as compensatory damages. You might have on-going problems or need rehabilitation services.

4. Pain and Suffering

Pain and suffering are very subjective. Yet the concept is critical to personal injury lawsuits. In addition to medical fees and covering property damage, you should be compensated for the pain you experience.

Although no one will be able to accurately judge your pain besides yourself, there are clues that a judge or jury can use.

One strategy is to consult your medical team. A doctor will be able to explain if you need pain medication and how your injury will affect your lifestyle.

On a more personal level, your friends and loved ones can also testify. The people who see you every day can explain how your compensatory damages injury affected you.

5. Emotional Distress

Your emotions mattered. A serious injury can deeply affect them. The court knows this, which is why you have the option to seek compensation for emotional distress.

This is tied to pain and suffering. It’s also very subjective. You’ll have to make your case.

Compensatory Damages

Compensatory damages are the most important part of a personal injury lawsuit. They’re what you’re seeking.

Read our blog if you have questions about the law or hiring a lawyer.