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If you’ve been injured in an accident, you may be wondering what type of damages you are potentially entitled to (should you decide to pursue a claim against the defendant).  In Florida, there are several categories of damages in personal injury cases, and those categories are further divided into additional sub-categories, so it can be quite overwhelming for the uninitiated layperson to understand the potential of their claim.

What are Damages?

Before we discuss the various types of damage categories in Florida personal injury cases, it is important to understand the role of damages in lawsuits.  Though there is some variation, damages are generally meant to compensate a plaintiff-victim for their injuries.  It is often said that damages are meant to “make the victim whole” – in other words, to the degree possible, restore the victim to his or her original position prior to the various injuries.

Damages need not be based solely on physical injury.  In many personal injury claims, physical suffering can lead to emotional or financial injuries.  For example, an injured leg may force a plaintiff-laborer to miss several months of work, causing the laborer to suffer significant financial losses as a result.

Depending on the circumstances of your injury case, you may be entitled to recover the following damages:

Economic Damages

Economic damages are tangible damages related to financial losses suffered by the plaintiff due to the injuries.  They are often predictable and relatively easier to measure than other damage categories, since it is more likely that record evidence of the losses exist (i.e., medical bills).  Economic damages include: medical expenses, past, present, and future wage loss, lost earning capacity, and property loss.

Suppose that you are injured in a motor vehicle accident.  You suffer significant spinal injuries, and your vehicle was totaled.  You will be able entitled to assert economic damages based on your past and current medical expenses (including surgery), based on the effect of the injury on your ability to work, and based on your various property losses, such as the totaled car.

You may also be entitled to claim reasonable future medical expenses, though such damages are more speculative and therefore more difficult to prove.

Non-Economic Damages

Non-economic damages are speculative damages, and are inherently less predictable than economic damages.  They typically involve the physical and emotional suffering of the plaintiff following the injuries at-issue, and rely on expert opinion and other subjective evidence for proof.  Non-economic damages include: pain and suffering damages, disability, quality of life concerns, loss of companionship, loss of consortium, and mental anguish.

Punitive Damages

Punitive damages operate quite differently from economic and non-economic damages.  Punitive damages are not meant to compensate the plaintiff for their injuries, but rather to – as the name implies – punish the defendant for particularly malicious, fraudulent, or reckless behavior.

Though it is rare for a plaintiff to access punitive damages in a Florida personal injury case, it can have a significant impact on the value of a claim.  When punitive damages are available, a damages multiplier is applied to the existing economic and non-economic damages claim.

For example, suppose that you are injured by a bicyclist while walking on a sidewalk.  The bicyclist is intoxicated and riding fast on the sidewalk.  Seeing you, the bicyclist decides to swerve into you, knocking you to the ground and causing serious injuries.  In such circumstances, the court might allow you to assert punitive damages, as the bicyclist acted with particular malice.

If you have been injured due to the fault of another, you may be entitled to recover personal injury damages.  To discuss your case, contact Port Charlotte personal injury attorney Randall Spivey at the Spivey Law Firm, Personal Injury Attorneys, P.A. today.