Personal Injury Damages

Personal Injury Damages
By Michael Enfield

When you or a loved one is getting personal injury damages and you file a personal injury lawsuit, you may be entitled to financial compensation for your injuries. This money award for your pain and personal injury damages is known as compensation. Under United States law, the defendant in a these cases is responsible for paying damages to the plaintiff, or the injured individual, if the defendant is found guilty in the case.
The most common type of personal injury damages is actual damages. Actual damages, also known as compensatory damages, are paid to compensate an individual for loss, injury, or harm incurred from another's breach of duty.
In the realm of personal injury damages, are awarded in cases in which there was a breach of tort duty. In other words, the claimant receives compensation based on the position he or she would have been in had the personal injury not happened. This is divided into two categories: general damages and special damages.
General damages compensate the injured party for the non-monetary aspects of their injuries. This may include:
• Physical pain
• Emotional suffering
• Disfigurement
• Mental of physical impairment
The plaintiff must be able to prove that these or any other personal injury damages result of suffering the personal injury damages occurred as a result of the injury and not pre-existing conditions in order to be compensated for them.
Unlike general damages, special damages compensate the injured party for his or her monetary losses suffered because of an injury. These may be awarded for any number of reasons, but the most common are:
• Lost earnings
• Repairing or replacing property
• Compensating for irreplaceable items
• Covering extra costs associated with the injury
Again, especially in the case of repairing or replacing property and compensating for irreplaceable items, the plaintiff must be able to prove that the property was damaged in the accident and not before in order to receive compensation.
As in any legal case, proving your case can be difficult, so it is important to have a personal injury lawyer by your side to help you through the process. An attorney knowledgeable in personal injury damages can help you get the damages you may be entitled to.
If you or a loved has suffered an personal injury damages because of another's negligent actions, contact your personal injury attorneys to learn more about building your personal injury damages case.