Sustaining injuries due to someone else’s negligence can inflict a lot of stress. You may have to deal with physical, emotional, and financial damages. In such situations, a personal injury lawsuit can help you seek compensation for these losses.

When you file a personal injury lawsuit, you can recover various types of damages for the injuries you endured. Here are the types of damages you can recover:

Economic Damages

Economic damages refer to the monetary losses you suffered as a result of the accident. The following are examples of economic damages that can be included in your compensation for loss of income, medical expenses, property damage, and other out-of-pocket expenses.

Medical Expenses

Personal injury victims often have to contend with hefty expenses related to their treatment and recovery. Medical expenses can include hospital bills, surgeries, tests, therapy, rehabilitation, aids, and other necessary medical treatments.

Lost Wages

Lost income is one of the most significant factors to consider when calculating the damages in a personal injury claim. The time missed from work due to injuries or disability can lead to a significant loss of income.

Property Damage

If the accident caused damage to your vehicle or other personal property, you can claim property damage costs in your lawsuit.

Other Economic Damages

Other economic damages may include expenses such as transportation to and from medical appointments, prescriptions, home health care, and any additional expenses related to your recovery.

Non-Economic Damages

Non-economic damages aim at compensating victims for the intangible losses they experienced. These types of damages don’t have a direct monetary value but can have a severe impact on a victim’s life.

Pain and Suffering

Injuries resulting from an accident can lead to physical and psychological pain that can last for an extended period. Pain and suffering damages reimburse the victim for the discomfort and emotional stress they endured.

Emotional Distress

An accident can also cause emotional or psychological distress. You may experience anxiety, depression, loss of sleep, or post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) from the accident’s aftermath. These non-physical damages are also compensable in a personal injury lawsuit.

Loss of Enjoyment

After sustaining injuries, you may be unable to engage in activities you once enjoyed. If you can no longer perform activities you used to enjoy, you can seek compensation for this loss.

Loss of Consortium

When an accident affects your relationship with your spouse or loved ones, you can seek damages for loss of consortium. This includes damages for loss of companionship, sexual intimacy, and other losses caused by the accident.

Punitive Damages

In a personal injury lawsuit, punitive damages may be awarded if the defendant’s behavior was intentional or reckless. Punitive damages aim at punishing the offender for their actions and act as a deterrent to others from acting in a similar manner. Punitive damage is rarely awarded and exists mostly when the defendant’s behavior is beyond ordinary negligence.

Conclusion

A personal injury lawsuit can help you obtain compensation for the losses you’ve suffered in an accident. By seeking damages, you can pay for medical expenses, lost income, property damage, and other economic damages incurred from your injuries, along with non-economic damages like pain and suffering, emotional distress, and loss of enjoyment of life. In some extraordinary circumstances, a court may decide to award punitive damages to punish the negligent party’s behavior.