What are economic vs. non-economic damages
and how do they affect personal injury lawsuits?
Hi folks, and welcome back to Hammer TV.
I’m Bill Adler and we’re very excited
to present a new episode on our frequently
asked questions series where we tackle some
of the very interesting questions we get in
the world of personal injury.
Today, we’re taking a look specifically
at damages – what they are, how they’re
calculated, and what they mean for your personal
injury claim.
So let’s jump right in.
In a personal injury suit, the money you receive
is called your “damages.”
There are two types of damages: economic and
non-economic.
We’ll talk about both.
Economic damages are the easier ones to understand.
When you’ve been hurt in an accident, you
want your medical bills covered and money
back for the time you missed from work.
These numbers are objectively verifiable—you
know exactly what the doctor charged you,
and you can calculate your lost earnings by
multiplying your missed time and pay-rate
together.
Any losses you can define with exact dollars
and cents will be economic damages.
The law also allows you to recover non-economic
damages for an accident.
You likely suffered physical pain and mental
anguish because of your injuries, and you
are entitled to money to make up for that
suffering.
You can also get money for physical disfigurement
you’ve suffered, like scars and burns, and
for physical impairment, such as the loss
of your ability to perform certain activities.
Certain close family members like spouses
can even recover money for their personal
emotional suffering when a loved one is injured.
It’s harder to put a precise dollars and
cents figure on non-economic damages.
Two different juries might award a different
amount of money for the same broken arm and
neither one would be wrong.
And unfortunately, some people have trouble
awarding non-economic damages at all; they
think that people should only get money for
economic damages, even though the law says
otherwise.
Insurance companies know that non-economic
damages are harder to define, and they use
that fact to offer you less than you deserve.
Hiring a good personal injury lawyer will
help you maximize your non-economic damages
and your overall recovery.
Your attorney will fight for your rights and
make sure you get every penny you deserve.
Hopefully that was helpful to look at the
different types of damages that apply in personal
injury cases.
If you have questions about the information
in this video or would like to discuss how
it applies to your specific case, you can
get in touch with us at Jim Adler and Associates
via the contact form at jimadler.com or give
us a call at 1-800-567-7575.
That’s our number.
