Getting hurt can cost a lot. It can wind up costing you time at a doctor’s office, hospital or rehab center. It can shorten the length of your life if the injury is severe enough. It most definitely costs you money – between bills and the loss of income, you may never financially recover. When you file a personal injury court action against the negligent party, you may come out with an award of damages. Learn about the different types of awards you may receive so you can better prepare yourself in the event your case prevails as a personal injury lawyer in Des Moines, IA, like from Johnston Martineau, LLP, can explain.
Reimbursement of What You Lost
The most common type of financial compensation you will receive at the end of a personal injury lawsuit is known as special compensatory damages. Your lawyer requested that you submit evidence of the bills you have accumulated because of your injury. You should have also given your pay statements showing the amount of money you lost in wages. The court adds these up, and if the defendant is found negligent, the probability is high that you will get special compensatory damages.
Compensation for Intangible Losses
Once you get an award for the reimbursement, you are eligible to receive other financial compensation types for your case. You undoubtedly experienced an immeasurable amount of physical pain and emotional turmoil because of the injury. These are intangible things that cannot be expensed or have any actual monetary value attached. However, they do mean something to the court. Depending on the severity of your injury and the details of the incident, the court may award you general damages. These are for pain and suffering, both physical and mental. If you are married, your spouse may file for loss of consortium. This means that your relationship has been profoundly altered by the incident that caused your injury, and they want compensation. A judge may order that type of award under general damages.
Extra Money To Help Ease the Stress
The final type of award is usually only bestowed on a plaintiff in extreme cases. Punitive damages are entirely up to a judge, and when they are awarded, it is generally as a way to inflict a punishment on the defendant. The events of the incident that led to your injury are likely extremely negligent. They harm done to you would be extreme, like causing you to be paralyzed or suffer irreversible brain damage. Punitive damages are discretionary and are often excessive dollar amounts.
Damages are how a court can try to make your injury better. Speak to your personal injury lawyer before setting your expectations too high.