The Damages That Are Included in a California Personal Injury Claim

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A personal injury refers to any harm to a person caused by another person’s negligence, carelessness, or violent attitude. From a legal standpoint, such harm could result in physical, financial, and emotional damages. Personal injury can be caused by anything, from a car accident to faulty stairs in the office. In California, victims of negligence are allowed to file a personal injury case and recover their losses within two years from the date of the accident.

As a victim in a personal injury case in California, determining the value of your injuries comes down to an analysis of potential damages. Many states have different caps on how high personal injury claims can go. California doesn’t cap compensatory damages in personal injury lawsuits. So to get the best compensation for your damages, consulting personal injury lawyers in California is your best bet.

This blog will discuss the damages included in a California personal injury claim.

Compensatory damages: Compensatory damages, like the name implies, fulfill the obligations stated in Civil Code §3281, which states, “Any person who suffers harm from the unlawful, negligent action of another party may recover compensation in the form of money as damages for said actions inflicted by the person at fault.”

When a victim files a personal injury claim, the aim is to be offered money to compensate them for their loss. Even though, most times, victims don’t go back to the exact condition they were in before the accident, their bills going forward should be catered for. Compensatory damages are in two categories: economic and non-economic damages. Economic damages compensate for medical bills, a subsequent loss of wages, and property loss.

• Medical bills: A personal injury victim is entitled to compensation for present and future medical treatment costs such as emergency and ambulance costs, drug prescriptions, and, in cases where home care is needed, nursing costs and in-house services.

• Loss of wages: Due to incapacitation caused by the accident, a victim can no longer work and earn their wages for that time. So, a reimbursement for salaries, bonuses, and commissions missed for that period is necessary.

• Property loss: In cases where a building, be it a shop or house, is damaged by an errant driver, the house’s market value must be met to compensate the homeowner for their loss.

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Non-economic damages, on the other hand, refer to

• Compensation required for disfigurement due to the accident.
• Emotional distress that is accompanied by feelings of fear, anxiety, sleep deprivation, and post-traumatic stress disorder.
• Loss of consortium, which leads to the inability to provide love, affection, and even empathy to members of your family due to the accident.
• Pain and suffering that affect one’s overall quality of life.

Unlike economic damages, non-economic damages are more challenging to calculate as they have no receipts or bills. But most times, the multiplier method is used in determining the extent of compensation that can be received. So it falls on your attorney to be able to create a narrative that maximizes compensation for emotional suffering.

Punitive damages: These charges are awarded to serve as a deterrent to the offender for acts of gross recklessness. Once the defendant can prove such acts, the court penalizes the offender by adding an extra amount to the compensatory damages and, in some cases, jail time.

Conclusion Getting the proper compensation as an accident victim is tricky, as the law surrounding the extent to which you file for damages is complex. So, the expertise of an experienced personal injury attorney with in-depth knowledge of the laws surrounding accident damages is paramount, as it is often the most significant determinant of the success of your case.