What Are Damages in a Personal Injury Claim in Georgia and South Carolina?

When someone else’s carelessness turns your life upside down, the frustration can feel overwhelming. One minute you’re just living your life, and the next you’re struggling with injuries, medical bills, and insurance companies that seem to care more about money than helping you heal.

You’re probably wondering: What am I entitled to? How do I make sure I get fair compensation for everything I’ve been through? These are the questions that keep accident victims up at night, and you have every right to feel frustrated when the answers aren’t clear—and often, they aren’t.

“Damages” refer to the monetary compensation awarded to injured parties in personal injury cases. The goal is to make you ‘whole’ again by providing financial relief for the losses you suffer due to someone else’s negligence. While no amount of money can truly undo the harm caused by an accident, damages are the legal system’s way of addressing the financial and personal impact of your injuries.

Knowing the types of damages available is crucial for ensuring you receive a fair recovery. Too many personal injury victims don’t realize the full scope of losses they can recover, which is exactly why working with experienced personal injury attorneys who understand your frustration can make all the difference in your case outcome.

Understanding the Purpose of Damages

When someone else’s actions harm you, you shouldn’t have to bear the consequences alone. Damage awards are meant to put you back in the same position you would have been in if the accident hadn’t happened.

We know this feels impossible when you’re dealing with permanent injuries or life-altering conditions. That frustration is valid. But the compensation should address every way your injury has changed your life, not just the financial burden of medical bills.

Damages serve both compensatory and punitive purposes. Most awards focus on compensating victims for their actual losses, but in cases involving particularly reckless or intentional conduct, you may receive additional punitive damages to punish the wrongdoer and send a message that this behavior is unacceptable.

Economic Damages (also known as “Special Damages”)

Economic damages offer compensation for financial losses you can calculate with specific dollar amounts and document through receipts, bills, and records. These are often the damages that hit your wallet first and hardest.

Medical Expenses

Medical expenses typically represent the largest component of economic damages in personal injury cases, and they add up faster than anyone expects.

This category includes:

• Emergency room treatment and ambulance services
• Hospitalization and surgical procedures
• Doctor visits and specialist consultations
• Prescription medications and medical devices
• Physical therapy and rehabilitation services
• Future medical care needs related to your injuries

Many people don’t know you can seek compensation for both current medical expenses and future medical costs. If your injuries need ongoing medical treatment, surgeries, or long-term care, your attorney should include these anticipated expenses in your damage calculation.

At M. Austin Jackson Injury Lawyers, we’ve helped clients recover substantial amounts for future medical care, including seven-figure settlements for clients whose severe injuries required extensive ongoing treatment.

Lost Wages and Income

The financial stress of missing work while you’re already dealing with injuries can feel crushing. You shouldn’t have to choose between your health and your paycheck. Lost wage compensation covers:

• Past lost income: Every dollar you’ve already missed due to your injuries
• Future earning capacity: If your injuries affect your ability to earn the same income going forward
• Lost benefits: Health insurance, retirement contributions, and other employment benefits you’ve lost
• Reduced earning potential: If you have to accept lower-paying work due to your limitations

Our experienced team works with vocational experts and economists to calculate these losses. We understand how frustrating it is to see your financial security threatened by someone else’s mistake, which is why we fight for every dollar of lost income.

Property Damage

In accidents involving vehicles or other property, you have the right to full compensation for repair or replacement costs. This includes your vehicle, personal belongings damaged in the accident, and any other property that needs repair or replacement due to the incident. You are likely entitled to compensation for diminished value of your vehicle as well.

Out-of-Pocket Expenses

The little costs add up, and they matter. Many accident victims incur various expenses that insurers try to overlook:

• Transportation costs for medical appointments
• Medical equipment like crutches, wheelchairs, or home hospital beds
• Home modifications to accommodate disabilities
• Household help if you can’t perform daily tasks
• Child care expenses if injuries prevent you from caring for your children

Non-Economic Damages (General Damages)

Non-economic damages address the part of your suffering that doesn’t show up on bills or receipts. These damages compensate for intangible losses that don’t have specific monetary values, but impact your quality of life.

Pain and Suffering

While physical pain is bad enough, it’s often the emotional toll that catches people off guard. Pain and suffering includes both the physical discomfort caused by your injuries and the emotional distress that accompanies them:

• Physical pain from the initial injury and ongoing discomfort
• Chronic pain conditions that may persist long after healing
• Mental anguish and emotional distress
• Sleep disruption and the exhaustion that follows
• The daily frustration of dealing with limitations you never had before

Courts consider factors like the severity of injuries, duration of pain, and impact on daily activities when determining appropriate pain and suffering awards. We’ve secured significant settlements for pain and suffering, including a six-figure settlement for a client who suffered a traumatic brain injury and debilitating migraines that dramatically affected her daily life.

Loss of Enjoyment of Life

This might be the most heartbreaking aspect of serious injuries. When you can no longer do the things that brought you joy, that loss is real and compensable:

• Inability to participate in hobbies or sports you loved
• Missing family activities and social gatherings
• Loss of physical abilities like dancing, hiking, or playing with children
• The deep frustration of watching life pass by from the sidelines

Loss of Consortium

Serious injuries impact your closest relationships. Loss of consortium provides compensation to spouses for the loss of companionship, affection, and intimate relations due to their partner’s injuries.

Emotional Distress

The psychological impact of accidents can be severe and long-lasting, often surprising people with its intensity. Compensation for emotional distress addresses conditions like:

• Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
• Depression and anxiety that develop after the accident
• Phobias related to the accident (such as fear of driving)
• Sleep disorders and nightmares
• Social withdrawal when you feel like nobody understands

Punitive Damages

When someone’s conduct was particularly outrageous, the law recognizes that compensation alone isn’t enough. Punitive damages are designed to punish defendants and deter similar behavior in the future.

These damages are usually reserved for cases involving drunk driving, reckless conduct, or intentional conduct. While they’re not available in every case, when they apply, they can significantly increase your recovery.

How Damages Are Calculated

You shouldn’t have to wonder if you’re getting a fair recovery. Calculating appropriate damages requires a thorough understanding of your losses and their long-term impact on your life.

Economic damages are generally calculated using documentation, expert testimony, and economic projections for future losses. But non-economic damages like pain and suffering require a more nuanced approach, considering factors such as:

• Severity and permanence of injuries
• Impact on daily activities and quality of life
• Age and life expectancy of the injured person
• Degree of physical and emotional pain experienced
• Treatment required and prognosis for recovery

Factors That Affect Damage Awards

Several circumstances can influence the award you receive, and understanding these factors helps you set realistic expectations:

Severity of injuries

More serious injuries that need extensive treatment and cause permanent limitations often result in higher awards, like the seven-figure settlements we secured for clients involved in a devastating logging truck accident.

Degree of fault

If you bear some responsibility for the accident, your damages may be reduced according to your percentage of fault under Georgia and South Carolina’s comparative negligence laws.

Impact on daily life

Injuries that significantly affect your ability to work, care for yourself, or enjoy life warrant higher compensation.

Available insurance coverage

Though insurance limits can affect recovery, experienced attorneys know how to explore all available sources of compensation.

How M. Austin Jackson Injury Lawyers Can Help Maximize Your Damages

We know you’re frustrated, worried, and probably feeling overwhelmed by the legal process. At M. Austin Jackson Injury Lawyers, our experienced team has walked alongside countless neighbors in the Augusta community who felt exactly like you do right now. Behind every case is a real person whose life has been disrupted by someone else’s carelessness.

Our skilled personal injury lawyers take a comprehensive approach to identifying and documenting every category of damages in your case. We don’t just look at the obvious costs; we dig deep to uncover every loss you’ve suffered and will suffer in the future.

We work closely with medical experts, economists, life care planners, and vocational rehabilitation specialists to properly value your claim.

Our case results speak for themselves:

• Seven-figure settlements for clients involved in a devastating logging truck accident
• Six-figure settlement for a client who suffered traumatic brain injury and debilitating migraines
• Over $600,000 for a client seriously injured when a dump truck ran a red light
• Over half a million dollars for clients injured by commercial and delivery trucks
• $295,000 settlement for a premises liability case involving unsafe apartment stairs
• Policy limits plus additional coverage totaling over $100,000 for a motorcycle accident victim
• Many other large recoveries for our Augusta-area neighbors

These results don’t happen by accident. They’re the result of our proven approach that exhausts every option in building your case:

• Step 1: Conduct a thorough investigation of your accident and injuries.
• Step 2: Provide comprehensive documentation of all economic losses.
• Step 3: Work with experts to calculate future damages accurately.
• Step 4: Gather compelling evidence to support non-economic damage claims.
• Step 5: Negotiate aggressively with insurance companies that try to “lowball” you with insufficient offers.
• Step 6: Take cases to trial when necessary to secure fair compensation

We have deep roots in the Augusta community, and we’re committed to ensuring our neighbors receive every dollar to support their healing process. We know how to build compelling cases that prove the full extent of your losses and present them effectively to insurance carriers and juries who might otherwise minimize your suffering.

You’ve been through enough. You shouldn’t have to fight this battle alone or wonder if you’re getting the recovery you’re entitled to. The insurers are counting on you to feel overwhelmed and accept less than your case is worth.

Don’t let frustration turn into regret. Contact M. Austin Jackson Injury Lawyers today at 706-981-9286 for a free consultation during which we’ll listen to your story, explain your rights, and start fighting for justice and maximum compensation.

Frequently Asked Questions About Personal Injury Damages