If you have been injured and you are discussing your injuries with your lawyer, your attorney will likely throw around references to “damages”. But what are damages? Sure, you understand the plain English meaning of the word “damages”, but in the personal injury context, what are they?
In a nutshell, damages refer to those aspects of the harm you received as a result of your injury for which you are seeking compensation. There are multiple types of damages. There are economic damages (i.e.damages to your vehicle or other property, lost wages, etc.), and there are non-economic damages (i.e. pain and suffering, emotional trauma, etc.).
The importance of economic damages is obvious to most people. When injured, a person may find himself or herself in medical debt, having to replace a car, losing wages at work because he or she has to take off time to recover from or treat injuries; or even worse, finding that the ability to earn money is diminished or all together lost.
Sometimes, the importance of non-economic damages is not fully appreciated. Perhaps this is because these types of damages are more difficult to quantify. But as we all intuitively know, while more difficult to measure, these non-economic damages can have a profound impact on our lives. The non-economic harm we experience when we are injured may lead to mental health issues, loss of enjoyment for our hobbies, physical suffering, and for the spouse of an injured party they may experience losing the quality of the relationship they once had with their spouse before the injury (also known as Loss of Consortium).
Regardless of how you have been injured, the harm to you for those injuries is as unique as you are. You owe it to yourself to sit down with an personal injury lawyer who will take the time to understand how you have been impacted by your injuries, and aggressively advocate for a fair compensation for those injuries.
If you you or a loved one has been injured, contact our office today for a free consultation.
by Adam Mack, JD
Disclaimer
These articles are for general informational use and do not constitute legal advice. Since laws change over time, it’s possible some articles are out of date and for that reason, we make no representation that the articles are fully accurate. For actual, up-to-date legal advice (including a free consultation), please contact us!
