In personal injury cases, a lot of times, the journey centers around one thing, which is called compensation. Now, when one of the parties out of the two is injured, they demand an amount that they had to bear.
This compensation is seen to be in two forms. One is economic, and the other one is non-economic. People usually focus on the economic side of things and oftentimes take non-economic damages for granted.
A car accident attorney helps in breaking down the cases and helps the victims decide on an economic and non-economic amount that is to be paid in order to get the compensation. Let’s understand it more.
Economic Damages
Economic damages are the ones that are tangible and are also known as the special damages that happen to a victim as a result of an injury.
These damages can easily be quantified as they are linked directly to the monetary losses that occur to the victim party.
Some of the economic damages include:
- Economic damages take into account any income lost as a result of injury, including wages that an individual would have earned but for their injuries (ranging from missing work and reduced working hours to inability to complete duties entirely).
- All medical costs associated with injuries sustained, such as hospital bills and doctor fees as well as surgery expenses and diagnostic tests are quantifiable costs which give an accurate picture of injuries sustained to those involved.
- If there are some kind of property damages that have occurred as a result of the injury, the cost of the replacement and the repairing are considered to be property damages, and these do come under economic damages.
Non-Economic Damages
When it comes to non-economic damages, these can be intangible and do not specifically have a monetary value attached to them. These are usually associated with emotions and feelings.
The Loss of Lifestyle
When an injury occurs and it specifically impacts the quality of life of people, they lose a specific lifestyle that they used to follow, and then these damages are considered as non-economic damages. These non-economic damages can result in impacting one of your hobbies, activities, or your daily routine.
Suffering and Pain
The physical and emotional stress suffered by the victim shall be included in this category. It includes the pain taken due to the injury, as well as the suffering, mental distress, and emotional disruption that often accompany the healing process.
Deprivation of the Consortium
The non-economic damages are a lot more than just the loved ones and the victim. The loss of consortium is one thing that makes compensation for the companionship lost, the love, and the affection. It is usually given to the spouses or the parents.
Legal Considerations on the Damages
Damages require careful legal considerations when considering damages claims.
A personal injury attorney says that there are a lot of factors that can impact the amount of the compensation when it comes to non-economic damages.
There are statutory caps that are on the non-economic damages. These are placed by the lawmakers on the total amount of compensation that a person can get for the intangible losses.
All of these caps are designed to address different stuff.
- A lot of the legal system experts say that without the caps on non-economic damages, the plaintiffs can get motivated to file a lawsuit to seek great compensation even for the damages that are quite less.
- In some cases, large jury awards for non-economic damages can lead to higher insurance costs for healthcare providers and businesses. Statutory caps aim to keep these costs in check.
- The caps on the non-economic damages are also defended as a form of tort reform. The supporters do say that such limits can help in promoting predictability in the legal outcomes. Also it does also help in excessive jury awards.
Now, the presence of the statutory costs on the non-economic damages can be very tricky and is always seen as something that is debated all the time. Attorneys of the victims do give an argument that in these cases, the cases of suffering and pain are not taken seriously by the jury to make a judgment.
Conclusion
When it comes to the economic and the non-economic damages, there is for sure a difference that can be seen here. But the non-economic damages are a lot more difficult to get. Understanding both and getting the right consternation is the major thing here. A professional lawyer can help you go through this process with ease with his expertise.
Add Comment