When a person is involved in an accident that was caused by another person’s negligence, the injured person can recover damages from the person who caused the accident.
The damages are intended to compensatethe injured individual for the harm that was done to them and the costs that they incurred as a result of the accident.
There are specific categories of damages available to an injured person after an accident. In most cases, the cost of reasonable medical care can be recovered. This includes the cost of an ambulance, the emergency room costs, surgery, testing, and physical therapy. Sometimes an injury will require ongoing medical care well into the future. In these cases, the damages might cover the past medical expenses as demonstrated by the bills, as well as projections about the necessary medical care the person will require moving forward.
Lost wages or earnings are also recoverable. These damages compensate for the time that a person might have missed from work because they were injured. This can also include future lost earnings, which might be the case in a situation where an injury makes it impossible for a person todo the job they had before the accident, and the person is going to earn lower wages for the rest of their life. Pain and suffering damages are designed to compensatea person for their negative experiences stemming from the incident.
If a person is disfigured because of the accident, they can recover compensation for the embarrassment and humiliation that they are likely to experience, and for the cost of cosmetic surgery if there are procedures that can improve their appearance.
In some instances, punitive damages are awarded as a punishment to a defendant who acted egregiously. These damages are not intended to compensate for a loss and are based on the defendant’s behavior, not the injured individual’s losses.
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