Personal injury, in a legal sense, is a way to protect people if they’re injured or harmed by the actions or failure of another person to act. Personal injury can even be a way to protect property, and this area of law is also known as tort law. If someone succeeds in an illegal act, the person who caused the damage or loss compensates the person who suffered the loss as a result.
Car accidents are a prime example of personal injury. If you live in a known state of disrepair, you are entitled to negligence if you’re hurt by a careless driver. This is because drivers have an obligation to watch out every time they’re on the road. If a liability is breached and there’s a resulting loss, personal injury laws state that you have the right to recover your damages.
In personal injury, you seek compensation from whoever caused or contributed to your loss, and legally, that party compensation is called compensation.
There are two general categories or types of damage in personal injury—compensation and punishment. Compensation is much more generally provided. Damages are barely awarded, and they’re intended as a form of punishment rather than making someone financially “whole” again.
With that in mind, here are seven specifically damage type which can be administered in case of personal injury.
Monetary loss
Under the larger monetary loss umbrella are the following possible compensation:
- Medical expenses: Damages for medical expenses may include past, current, and future medical costs of treatment and rehabilitation. Future costs can be calculated by estimating a person’s medical needs for the rest of their life. Medical expenses can include hospital stays, doctor appointments, costs for diagnostic tests, equipment, and treatments.
- Living with a disability: If someone is injured, it can lead to permanent or temporary disability requiring the accident victim to make significant lifestyle changes. Compensation can cover costs incurred as a result of such changes. For example, a person may need to pay for somebody to come to their home and supply care and help, or they may need to change their home to make it more accessible after an accident.
- Lost wages: if an accident victim misses work because they’re recovering from an injury, then they may have the ability to recover lost wages. There is also a chance to recover lost earning capacity as a result of injury, which would be your future income were it not for the accident.
- Loss of property: If your vehicle, clothing or other property is damaged in the accident, you may have the ability to receive reimbursement for repairs or replacement of lost property at fair market value.
- Funeral expenses: If someone dies from their injuries in an accident, the victim’s family may have the ability to cover funeral expenses.
Non-Monetary Losses
Non-monetary losses are tougher to quantify and can be more subjective than monetary losses. Damages for non-monetary losses may include:
- Pain and suffering: Damage to pain and suffering can include compensation for the physical pain a person may feel after an accident, but also for their emotional distress and suffering. Emotional distress can include anger, fear, and loss of enjoyment of life because of their injuries.
- Loss of consortium: If the victim of personal injury has a partner, for example, they may receive damages resulting from the loss of the emotional elements of their relationship, such as loss of affection, friendship, favors, and sexual relations.
Compensation
As mentioned, damages are somewhat rare in personal injury cases. They are reserved for situations where the defendant’s behavior is found to be specifically reckless or appalling. If so, the plaintiff in a personal injury case may be awarded damages as a compensatory damages.
While they’re awarded to injured plaintiffs, punitive damages are intended as a punishment to discourage similar behavior in the future.
Many states have limits on how much can be awarded in damages in the case of personal injury.
How the Plaintiff’s Actions May Affect Their Award of Compensation
If someone is injured, but they played a role in causing the accident, or they do not take certain actions after being injured, they may see less available damage as a result.
In one situation, there’s comparative negligence. If the plaintiffs are even partially guilty of the accident causing their injuries, then their damages will show that. Most states follow a standard of comparative negligence, which relates their losses to their degree of wrongdoing in an accident or injury.
Some countries follow a dues default. You may not be eligible for any compensation even if you played a minor role in the accident.
Another concept is failing to reduce your damage after a crash. The law in most states expects that if you’re a plaintiff in a personal injury case, you take certain reasonable steps to mitigate the financial impact of damages resulting from the accident. If you do not do anything a reasonable person would do, such as get treatment after your injury and then make your injury worse, then your damages can be reduced and sometimes significantly.
As you know, things can get confusing in personal injury law, which is why people most frequently work with professional attorneys. An lawyer can help someone understand what their case is worth and help them decide whether it’s wise to proceed. Calculating potential compensation requires someone skilled in this area of law, and there are numerous factors that go into it.
By understanding the types of compensation and damages to which you may be entitled for, you can more effectively navigate the situation after an accident.
