The purpose of a personal injury claim is to obtain compensatory damages for all of the ways your injury has affected your life, from a physical, financial and emotional standpoint. Compensation is the law’s way of attempting to put you back in the position you were in prior to your injury.
Below, our Harrisburg personal injury attorneys review the different types of compensatory damages available in a Pennsylvania personal injury lawsuit.
Contact us today to find out what forms of compensation you could be entitled to receive for your claim.
Special Damages
These are also called economic damages because they provide compensation for the financial expenses created by your injury. Each type is connected to an economic loss you suffered, such as:
Medical Expenses
This includes all past, current and future medical bills related to the treatment of your injury, including bills for:
- Surgeries
- Ambulance transportation
- Medical testing
- Visits with doctors
- Prescription medications
- Medical equipment like wheelchairs
- Hospital bills
- Physical therapy and rehabilitation
Lost Wages and Earning Capacity
This is compensation for wages lost because of your injury. For example, you may have missed work while receiving treatment or because you were physically unable to work.
You can also recover compensation for your injury’s effect on future earning capacity. For instance, your injury may prevent you from working as many hours as you did before. Sometimes personal injuries force victims to get jobs in another field because they cannot continue in the same field as before the injury.
Property Damage
If any of your personal property was damaged in the situation where your injury occurred, you could obtain compensation to repair or replace the fair market value.
Other Expenses
Personal injuries can also affect your ability to perform household chores. If you are forced to hire a housekeeper or someone to take your kids to school or pick up groceries, you can try to recover compensation for the cost of these services.
You can also obtain compensation for transportation and lodging costs if you require treatment outside of the state.
You may also be able to recover compensation for alterations you must make to your home because of the injury.
General Damages
These are also called non-economic damages because they do not have a direct monetary value attached to them.
The most common types of general damages include:
- Physical pain
- Emotional suffering, including depression, anxiety, loss of sleep and humiliation
- Loss of companionship, if the injury affects your marital relationship
- Loss of enjoyment, if the injury prevents you from engaging in leisure activities you enjoyed before your injury
- Permanent disfigurement
Punitive Damages
These damages are only available in cases where the jury finds that the defendant’s behavior showed a reckless disregard for your safety.
These damages are not connected to any economic or non-economic loss, rather they are intended to punish the defendant and help deter others from engaging in similar conduct in the future.
While there is no cap on special or general damages, punitive damages are limited to twice the amount of compensatory damages recovered.
Schedule Your Free Legal Consultation Right Now
A personal injury can affect various aspects of your life, from your physical and mental capabilities to your ability to work to support yourself and your family.
If your injury was caused by another party’s negligence, you may be able to file a personal injury lawsuit to obtain compensatory damages for all the losses you have experienced.
Our Harrisburg personal injury attorneys take cases on contingency, so there is no upfront fee and you will not be charged legal fees unless we recover compensation.
Contact Schmidt Kramer today to schedule your free legal consultation.