If you’ve been injured due to someone else’s negligence, you’re entitled to compensation. But what exactly does compensation entail?
Personal injury claims typically involve two main categories of damages: economic and non-economic. Knowing the distinction can mean the difference between a settlement that just covers your bills and one that truly addresses all aspects of your suffering.
What Are Economic Damages?
Economic damages represent the tangible, calculable financial losses resulting from your injury. These include medical bills for emergency treatment, hospital stays, surgeries, medication, and physical therapy. They also cover lost wages for income you’ve missed during recovery and diminished earning capacity for future income losses if you cannot return to your previous work. Common examples of economic damages include:
- Emergency room and hospital bills
- Surgical costs and follow-up appointments
- Prescription medications
- Physical therapy and rehabilitation
- Lost wages and salary
- Lost business opportunities
- Property damage or replacement costs
- In-home care expenses
- Adaptive equipment or home modifications
What are Non-Economic Damages?
Non-economic damages address the human cost of an injury—the harm that doesn’t come with receipts attached. Physical pain and suffering compensate for actual physical discomfort experienced after the injury. Emotional distress acknowledges psychological impacts like anxiety, depression, and post-traumatic stress. Common examples of non-economic damages you can pursue compensation for include:
- Physical pain and suffering
- Emotional distress and mental anguish
- Anxiety, depression, and PTSD
- Loss of enjoyment of life
- Loss of consortium or companionship
- Disfigurement or scarring
- Permanent disability
- Loss of reputation
- Humiliation or embarrassment
How These Damages Are Assessed
Economic damages involve straightforward calculations based on actual and projected costs. This means looking at medical bills or calculating lost wages by adding up previous paystubs. Generally, there’s a precedent for these damages based on real expenses.
Non-economic damages require more nuanced assessment, often using formulas like multiplying economic damages by a factor based on injury severity, or assigning a daily rate to your suffering. Effectively presenting non-economic damages requires compelling testimony about how your life has changed since the injury.
Get the Full Compensation You Deserve
Insurance companies routinely undervalue non-economic damages, dismissing them as subjective. Document everything—keep all medical bills and receipts, maintain a pain journal, and gather testimony from friends and family about changes in your quality of life.
The Law Offices of Tim Misny has extensive experience quantifying both economic and non-economic damages. When you’ve suffered because of someone else’s negligence, I’ll Make Them Pay!® Call my office at (877) 614-9524 so that I can evaluate your damages claim right away.
