Injuries that are due to someone else’s negligence can hinder your ability to earn money and live your life how you usually would have. Personal injury cases are a means to get compensated. After an injury, you may have medical bills and doctor’s appointments that take you away from your work (if you can work), and then there are the less visible repercussions. These include lost sleep, additional fatigue due to stress, and even mental health issues you developed since the accident.
You may receive compensation that covers any damage to your property (e.g., your car) and a monetary award in addition to that. The latter encompasses punitive and compensatory damages.
Compensatory Damages
Under the compensatory damages heading, two additional types of damages fall under it:
- Special Damages
- General Damages
In the opening of this article, we discussed how you may have lost money due to an inability to work and medical bills—and that doesn’t even account for the cost of legal counsel. However, everything we have just mentioned is connected to special damages.
General damages are less quantifiable, but these are hurdles that an attorney can help you navigate. Examples include:
- Costs associated with future medical appointments
- Mental health issues
- Pain and suffering
- The degree to which these health issues will impact your life
Punitive Damages
The word “punitive” is directly connected to “punishment.” Whereas compensatory damages are awarded to compensate you for financial losses and pain and suffering, punitive damages are delivered to deter others from acting in the way that injured you. Imagine if someone was injured in a car accident because the other driver was under the influence of more than double the legal limit. The punitive damage given to the victim is meant to deter others from drinking and driving.
Though we used the example of a car accident, punitive damages can be awarded under various circumstances. For instance, an employee may receive punitive damages from an employer that allowed sexual harassment to continue in the workplace.
The Patel Firm, PLLC
Although no one plans on being a victim of an accident, it can and does happen. As frightening as that may be, take comfort in knowing that you will always have an advocate who will fight for the compensation you need. Contact us to schedule a consultation for more information about how the Patel Law Firm can represent you and your injuries.
