Personal Injury Lawsuits: Types of Compensatory Damages

Compensatory damages are one of several categories of damages that may be awarded in a personal injury, medical malpractice, or product liability lawsuit. The aim of compensatory damages, to the degree that they can, is to make a person "whole again," or to restore him or her to the position he or she was in before the injury or accident. If you have been seriously injured by others' negligence, the contact a personal injury lawyer at the Harris Law Firm, P.A.

While monetary compensation is a poor substitute for actually making someone “whole again,” it is the system which has been in place since The Old Testament, and is simply among the few remedies available to the law in order to alleviate the consequences of a wrongful act.

Depending on the facts of the case, compensatory damages include the following:

• Medical expenses
  
• • A plaintiff must show that bills and expenses for medical treatment are related to injuries received or medical conditions developed as a result of the negligent behavior in question. The cost of a medical exam for purposes of litigation is not normally recoverable.
    
• Future medical expenses
  
• • This type of recovery is allowed if the plaintiff can prove that continued medical care as a result of the injury or accident is needed. An expert or experts, such as the treating physician, will need to provide a medical opinion that will allow the jury to make an approximate estimate of the costs.
    
• Disfigurement
  
• • If an injury or accident leaves scars or other personal effects on personal appearance such as a deformity or disfigurement, the plaintiff may collect damages for the mental suffering that arises out of his or her awareness of such. Disfigurement may sometimes be included as an element of another type of damage, such as mental anguish.
    
• Lost wages or Lost Income
  
• • This is compensation for the amount of money the plaintiff would have earned from the time of the injury to when the judgment or settlement was reached. An unemployed plaintiff may recover lost wages if he or she can show what he or she could have earned during the same period.
    
• Loss of earning capacity
  
• • The plaintiff must show that his or her ability to earn money in the future has been curtailed by the injuries. While past earnings are considered in determining an appropriate amount of compensation, the focus is on what the plaintiff may have earned had it not been for the injury or trauma. Other factors used in determining an appropriate amount include the plaintiff's talents, experience, skill, occupation, training, age, health, and life expectancy.
    
• Household services
  
• • The personal injury victim may have been contributing varied non-paid services to the family. The loss of household work that was done by the decedent can be assigned a value by uncovering specific services through a questionnaire and interviews with family members.
  • In other cases, someone may have been hired to perform needed household work while the plaintiff was recuperating from their injury. The cost of these services, provided that it can be shown that they would not have been incurred had the plaintiff not been injured, is sometimes included under medical expenses.
    
• Loss of enjoyment of life
  
• • A general damage for a diminished ability to enjoy the everyday pleasures of life. Loss of enjoyment of life is considered as a form of pain and suffering.
    
    
• Loss of consortium
  
• • The injured and non-injured spouse may make a claim for deprivation of the benefits of married life caused by the injury in question.
  • The couple's individual life expectancies, the amount of care and companionship bestowed upon the spouse, whether the marriage was stable, and the extent to which these benefits have been lost may be considered in determining the amount of compensation.
  • The benefits of married considered may include affection, comfort, solace, companionship, assistance, society, and sexual relations.
    
• Loss of consortium of a child
  
• • Damages may be recovered by parents whose child's injuries are severe enough to have significantly affected the parents' relationship with their child.
    
• Pain and suffering
  
• • When determining a monetary value to be awarded for past and future physical pain suffered as a consequence of the injury or accident in question, a jury may consider the length and severity of the pain the plaintiff is likely to continue suffering.
    
• Mental anguish
  
• • Any emotional distress, trauma or mental suffering the plaintiff experiences as a result of the injury or accident in question, including fright, apprehension, terror, nervousness, worry, anxiety, humiliation, sense of lost dignity, mortification, embarrassment, shock, and grief. This damage is generally covered under pain and suffering.

If you or a loved one has been injured in a car accident, motorcycle accident, truck accident, slip and fall, or other negligent conduct, then contact an experienced, dedicated, and compassionate personal injury lawyer at the Harris Law Firm, P.A. today.

A personal injury attorney will discuss your accident injury claim for free, confidentially, and provide you our honest assessment, all without obligation.

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