If you find that you have been involved in an accident, you may be entitled to compensation from the person that caused your injury. In a personal injury case, you are entitled to economic and non-economic damage claims. Economic damages are your out-of-pocket expenses or financial losses resulting from the accident that caused your injuries. Non-economic damages include things like pain and suffering, and changes to your quality of life.
Different Personal Injury Claims
Intentional tort: An act to willfully and purposely cause injury to a victim.
Negligence tort: The most common tort when it comes to personal injury. Pretty straightforward, the at-fault party, owes a duty of care. A typical example of a negligent tort is a car accident.
Strict liability tort: In a strict liability case, the at-fault party is held liable for your damages even if they didn’t intend to cause you harm. Some of the most common strict liability cases are usually product liability cases. An example would be if you bought any piece of machinery and while operating, it’s auto-shutoff feature didn’t work, and you got injured. Due to the product’s defect, you may be eligible to bring forward a product liability claim.
Types of Compensation/Damages
Economic Damages: Economic damages are out-of-pocket expenses and financial losses, suffered by an accident victim as a direct result of their injury.
- Current, past, and future medical bills
- Lost Wages
- Loss of future earning capacity and job opportunities
- Property damage
- Cost for the repair
Non-Economic Damages: Non-economic damages are subjective and not easily measured. Due to how subjective non-economic damages can be, damages such as emotional, pain and suffering, or psychological can be difficult to quantify.
- Current, past, and future pain and suffering
- Emotional distress
- The general quality of life
- Disability
- Loss of companionship
Punitive Damages: In personal injury cases, punitive damages are usually reserved for intentional tort cases and the occasional strict liability case.
