What Are Damages In A Personal Injury Claim?
After filing an insurance claim for your Augusta car accident, slip and fall, or any other kind of injury, you may ask yourself or your attorney, “What is my case really worth?” To answer that, you have to understand “damages” or what your injuries from the incident have cost you monetarily, physically, and mentally (and, in some cases, whether the defendant’s conduct should be punished).
What Are Damages in a Personal Injury Case?
In a personal injury claim, the accident victim’s injuries and losses (that is, the things they can be compensated for) are collectively referred to as “damages.” Generally speaking, damages in a Georgia accident claim fall into three categories: economic, non-economic, and punitive.
Economic Damages
Economic damages are those that have a clear and demonstrable economic value, such as medical bills, repair costs, lost wages due to work absences, future medical care costs, lost financial support, the loss of household services, and so on. These are all things with an easily quantifiable cost or at least a clear factual basis for estimating them.
- Loss of income
- Medical expenses
- Property damage
- Cost of living with a disability
- Personal care costs
- In a case involving death, the economic value of a life
Non-Economic Damages
Non-economic damages are harder to quantify in terms of dollars. They include things like pain, suffering, mental anguish, emotional distress, loss of enjoyment of life, post-traumatic stress, loss of consortium, or loss of love and affection. While these damages are compensable and usually translate into a specific dollar amount, doing so can require more research and valuation.
- Mental distress
- Pain and suffering
- Loss of companionship
- Loss of enjoyment of life
- Loss of reputation
Punitive Damages
Punitive damages are different. Whereas economic and non-economic damages are both intended to compensate the victim for a loss or injury they have suffered, punitive damages are not intended to compensate the victim at all. Rather, they are intended to punish the defendant. (That said, juries are sometimes known to award punitive damages, or increase the amount of punitive damages, because of a desire to give more money to an especially hard-suffering victim or family.)
When Are Punitive Damages Awarded in Georgia?
Essentially, courts award punitive damages in order to “hit the defendant where it hurts” (i.e., their wallet) and to send a serious message to the public.
Punitive damages are only available in certain kinds of cases, and according to Section 51-12-5.1 of the Georgia Code, are reserved for situations where the defendant’s actions showed:
- Willful misconduct
- Malice
- Fraud
- Wantonness
- Oppression
- Conscious indifference to the safety of others
Ordinary negligence is not enough to support a punitive damages award. Most often in traffic accident cases, punitive damages are awarded to victims of wrecks caused by drunk drivers.
Some accidents do add up to millions of dollars in direct damages. Medical bills, lost wages, property damage, and the cost of ongoing care can reach substantial sums when the accident is serious. But in some cases, those kinds of losses only make up part of the plaintiff’s total financial recovery. He or she might also receive punitive damages. In Georgia, punitive damages can typically go up to $250,000 — but in some cases, they can add up to millions of dollars on their own.
There’s a lot to know about punitive damages. They aren’t available in every case. Even when they are available, they aren’t necessarily handed over easily. Several limitations apply.
Read more about punitive damages in Georgia here.
M. Austin Jackson Injury Lawyers specializes in helping victims and their families injured in motor vehicle accidents. Since 2013, we have recovered millions for our personal injury clients. In the event of wrongful death, the family can seek compensation for the full value of the life that was lost, as well as damages to pay for funeral expenses, loss of companionship, and much more.
