In tort law, damages are intended to return the injured party to the position they were in before the defendant made a mistake. Two types of damages that appear frequently in tort cases are compensatory and non-compensatory damages. However, to obtain damages, the plaintiff will still need to show that their injuries weren't too remote, were caused by the defendant's behavior, and that they shouldn't be reduced due to a lack of mitigation. The two basic categories of damages awarded in personal injury claims are compensatory and punitive.
Special damages cover any expenses or losses related to an injury, and there is no limit to the types of special damage claims that can be made or to the amount an injured party can claim. Personal injury cases based on negligence can award economic and non-economic damages, but punitive damages are only awarded if a criminal violation occurred. In a personal injury case, if you have suffered an injury, property damage, or any other type of loss, as a plaintiff, you can seek compensation from whoever caused or contributed to those losses. These are different from special damages, or economic damages, which are for specific costs that someone could incur as a result of their personal injury.
Below, you'll find a deeper look at the different types of damages in personal injury cases and how they can be calculated. Any type of financial award won by a plaintiff's personal injury lawyer, entered by a judge or jury in a lawsuit, will be called compensation. General damages compensate an injured person for non-monetary damages incurred in an injury lawsuit. Unlike other damages recovered in a personal injury lawsuit, punitive damages are not used to reimburse the plaintiff for medical expenses, to pay for future care or missing work, or even to compensate for emotional distress.
In civil lawsuits, there is a type of compensation called pain and suffering that Law and Human Behavior describes as prizes for addressing non-economic injuries sought in a personal injury lawsuit. Again, these aren't easily quantifiable, but if you talk to a personal injury lawyer, they can help you examine your specific situation and see what types of general damages may be available. When calculating these damages, the court will use things like medical bills presented to insurance, lost wages based on time off work, and actual damage to property involved in the personal injury. Crashes involving cars, trucks, motorcycles, bicycles, pedestrians, and other types of vehicles generally result in a personal injury lawsuit.
Not all states allow punitive damages in a personal injury lawsuit or wrongful death cases to punish the offender.
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