On behalf of Restovich Braun & Associates posted in car accidents on Thursday, October 13, 2016.
Seeking compensation after a car accident is one way that victims of the accidents can try to recoup the money they had to spend because of the accident. These damages are divided into two broad categories – general damages and special damages. Knowing the basic differences between these two types and finding out how to determine which apply to your case are important in personal injury cases.
What are general and special damages?
General damages are ones that are classified as non-economic. These would include pain and suffering, loss of companionship, mental anguish, emotional distress and disfigurement or impairment. Other non-economic damages are also possible. Special damages are those that are associated with an economic harm. These include medical bills and lost wages.
How are these damages determined?
General damages are determined by pulling together several points. These can include the time you needed to recover, the severity of the injuries, the location of the injuries and the ongoing effects of the damages. Special damages can be determined by adding up medical bills and figuring out how much you would have earned if you didn’t have to miss work. It can be a bit more complicated to determine the future care costs for an injury since there aren’t bills to add up for these.
As you can image, determining how much to seek in a personal injury case can be difficult. If you are facing the prospect of seeking compensation, you should make sure that you understand how these amounts are going to be factored up in your case so that you know what is going on.