What Damages Can I Recover in a Personal Injury Case?
If you’re injured because of someone else’s negligence, you may be entitled to compensation to help you recover physically, financially, and emotionally. While every case is different, most personal injury claims involve several categories of damages that fall into two main groups: economic and non-economic losses.
Economic Damages: Medical Bills, Lost Wages & Future Costs
Past Medical Expenses
These include the medical costs you’ve already incurred because of the injury. Examples include:
- Emergency room visits
- Hospital stays
- Surgeries
- Chiropractic care, physical therapy, and injections
- Imaging (MRI, CT, X-ray)
- Medications
- Medical devices (braces, boots, crutches)
Future Medical Expenses
If your injury requires ongoing or long-term medical care, you can recover the reasonably likely future costs, which include the same types of medical expenses listed above. Expert medical opinions are often used to estimate these costs.
Past Lost Income
If your injuries kept you from working—whether for days, weeks, or months—you can be compensated for the wages you lost. This may include:
- Hourly wages or salary
- Lost overtime
- Shift differentials
- Lost tips, commissions, or bonuses
- Lost contract or gig-work or self-employment income
Documentation such as paystubs, tax returns, and employer statements helps establish the amount.
Future Loss of Earning Capacity
Some injuries affect your ability to work in the future. You may be compensated if your earning potential is reduced, even if you can still work in some capacity. This can apply when:
- You cannot return to your old job
- Your hours must be reduced
- You must switch to lower-paying work
- Your long-term career path is disrupted
These claims often rely on expert testimony from medical providers about work restrictions and vocational or economic experts about your likely future losses in your industry.
Non-Economic Damages: Pain, Suffering, Disability & Disfigurement
These damages compensate you for how the injury has impacted your life so far. This can include:
- Physical pain
- Emotional distress such as depression, anxiety, or PTSD
- Loss of mobility or strength
- Scarring
- Loss of enjoyment of life
- Inability to participate in activities you once enjoyed
So, how much money can a person receive for emotional distress and pain and suffering? This is one of the most common questions we receive about damages and settlement values. Because these damages are tied to your emotional experience, they are impossible to quantify: jury verdicts can vary from zero dollars to millions of dollars (though both of those extremes are very rare). It’s also important to understand that even if your case involves extreme emotional distress, insurance policy limits can put a cap on recovery.
Future Pain, Suffering, and Emotional Distress
Injuries don’t always end when treatment stops. If your injury is likely to cause ongoing or permanent physical or emotional symptoms, you can recover damages for those future impacts. This includes:
- Chronic pain
- Long-term mobility loss
- Permanent disability
- Scars or disfigurement
- Ongoing emotional distress
Punitive Damages
Unlike compensatory damages, which are meant to repay an injured person for losses, punitive damages are designed to punish particularly egregious conduct and deter similar behavior in the future. Punitive damages are not automatic and do not apply to the vast majority of cases—they are only available if there is clear and convincing evidence that the defendant:
- Knew of facts creating a high probability of injury to others, and
- Deliberately proceeded to act (or failed to act) in conscious or intentional disregard of that risk
Examples may include knowingly violating safety regulations, texting while driving at a high rate of speed, intentional misconduct, or repeated dangerous behavior despite prior warnings.
Every Case Is Unique
The value of your claim depends on many factors, including the severity of your injury, your medical treatment, how the injury affects your work, the long-term impact on your daily life, and limits in insurance policies. An experienced personal injury attorney can help gather the evidence you need, work with experts when appropriate, and pursue the full measure of your damages. Contact us for a free, comprehensive case review, call Sieben & Cotter at 651-455-1555 to arrange your consultation.