Personal injury law allows injured people to seek compensation for harm caused by the wrongful actions of others. These actions can be negligent, intentional, or reckless. The person injured is the plaintiff, and the person responsible is the defendant—or the tortfeasor. Personal injury law covers different types of scenarios, such as assault and battery, car accident, and slip and fall injuries among others. If you or a loved one have been injured in an accident, your best course of action is to get your questions answered by an experienced St Louis Missouri personal injury lawyer.
What Damages Can Be Claimed in a Personal Injury Case?
The damages that can be claimed in a personal injury case depend on the losses suffered by the injured party and are meant to compensate them for their losses. The three types of personal injury damages are:
Economic Damages
These damages cover actual financial losses, such as medical bills, lost wages, property damage, and other out-of-pocket expenses. These damages can be calculated by adding up the costs incurred or expected to incur due to the injury.
Non-Economic Damages
These cover intangible losses such as pain and suffering, mental and emotional distress, loss of enjoyment of life, and loss of consortium. These damages are more subjective and harder to quantify, but they can be estimated based on factors such as the severity of the injury, the impact on the plaintiff’s daily life, and the plaintiff’s age and health.
Punitive Damages
These damages are not meant to compensate the plaintiff but to punish the defendant for their wrongful conduct and deter others from engaging in similar behavior. These damages are only awarded by the court in rare cases where the defendant acted with malice, fraud, or gross negligence.
How Do I Prove My Damages?
To prove your damages, you must be able to show that the defendant is liable for your injuries and that you suffered actual losses as a result of the defendant’s actions. This means showing they were negligent or otherwise at fault for the accident. You must also show the nature and extent of your damages, such as medical bills, lost wages, and pain and suffering.
You can prove your damages by presenting evidence like medical records, pay stubs, witness testimony, photographs, videos, and any other relevant information that can support your claim. You may also need to work with experts who can help you estimate future losses or non-economic damages.
What Are Some Challenges in Proving Damages?
Some of the challenges in proving damages in a personal injury case are showing that the defendant’s actions were the actual cause of your injuries. This means that there is a direct link between the defendant’s negligence and your harm. You must also show the extent of your non-economic damages, which are more subjective and harder to quantify than economic damages.
However, the defendant may try to challenge your claim by raising various defenses, such as contributory negligence, comparative negligence, assumption of risk, or statute of limitations.
