Suppose you’ve ever suffered a personal injury in Carrollton. Then, you must have heard a lawyer talk about compensatory damages. Furthermore, your attorney possibly tried to differentiate this damages class from other types, but you didn’t understand them. Unfortunately, many personal injury victims don’t understand the various kinds of damages available to them.
That’s why it’s always wise to hire a Carrollton personal injury lawyer. If you sustain an injury, an experienced attorney can evaluate your claim. In addition, they can quickly determine what type of and what amount of damages you deserve. Finally, a lawyer can help you prove this right in court.
What Are Compensatory Damages?
“Damage” and “damages” are different concepts in law. Firstly, damage refers to a loss you suffer because of another person’s actions. Conversely, damages refer to the monetary remedy the fault part pays you as compensation. Compensatory damages are one of the many damages a personal injury victim can recover from the fault party.
Essentially, compensatory damages compensate an injured victim for the harm or injury they suffered. The court or insurer grants this type of damages to make good the plaintiff’s losses from the accident. So, the aim usually is to return the injured party to their position before the accident. Therefore, the victim will have to establish the losses they already sustained to recover compensation.
Types of Compensatory Damages
The law further divides compensatory damages into two. They include general and actual damages. A person may be entitled to one or both of these classes of compensatory damages.
Actual Damages
Actual damages are also called special or economic damages. As the name implies, they compensate for the “actual” losses an injury victim suffers in an accident. Therefore, they cover what was lost and nothing more. What you lost would include things directly destroyed in the crash and consequent out-of-pocket expenses.
You and your injury attorney will have to prove these losses to receive any compensation. Finally, it’s noteworthy that there are no legal caps to actual damages recovery. This is because the victim can legally recover everything they lost. You can recover actual damages in a wide range of personal injury claims. They include car accidents claims and medical malpractice lawsuits.
There’s a long list of potential actual damages a victim could recover, including:
- Past, current, and future medical and hospital bills
- Medicine and prescription drugs
- Cost of medical equipment and therapy
- Nursing home bills
- Lost wages
- Cost of hiring domestic servants
- Costs of damaged or lost property
- Transportation expenses
- Legal expenses and attorney fees
- Vehicle repairs
Usually, an injury victim will establish these losses via evidence to claim them from the fault party. That’s why it’s best to keep track of all the receipts describing your out-of-pocket expenses after a personal injury accident.
General Damages
General damages compensate the accident victim for non-financial losses they incur. Therefore, this class of damages is also called non-economic damages. General damages cover the hurt that plaintiffs “generally” sustain after an injury. They flow naturally from the fault party’s conduct and the subsequent injury. Consequently, most injury victims suffer some type of non-economic loss after an accident.
Notably, general damages aren’t easily designated with a specific dollar amount. Therefore, the court and insurance companies use some calculation methods to determine how much plaintiffs deserve. Recoverable general damages include:
- Pain and suffering
- Physical disfigurement
- Loss of consortium and companionship
- Reduced quality of life
- Emotional distress
- Lost earning capacity
- Psychological trauma
- Anxiety and depression
- Humiliation
- Lost opportunities
Receipts cannot prove this class of compensatory damages. So, victims have to rely on alternative sources of evidence. Relevant evidence would include medical records, expert witnesses, and injury diaries.
Carrollton Personal Injury Lawyers Can Get You Compensatory Damages
If you have suffered an injury in Lawrenceville, you may be eligible for compensatory damages. This is because Lawrenceville is in Georgia, an at-fault accident state. Consequently, a party must compensate the victim for the losses they incur because of their actions. First, however, you’ll need a Georgia personal injury attorney to establish your claim.
This is because proving the fault party’s responsibility can be challenging. You won’t have to worry about this if the Law Office of John B. Jackson represents you. We have multiple years of experience representing personal injury victims in Georgia.
In the process, we’ve won millions of dollars in compensatory damages for our clients. You too can become one of our success stories if you hire our services. So, call us today for a free case review and subsequent representation.
