What are the Three Types of Damages that can be Recovered in a Lawsuit
If you have suffered from a loss due to the wrongful conduct of a defendant, you can be compensated if you file a civil lawsuit. You can avail this relief from many avenues if you work with an experienced attorney such as Perry Bundy Plyler& Long LLP but the most common compensation is a monetary award. In order to determine how much the monetary award may worth, you need to first determine what are the damages caused by the defendant for your suffering and what are the damages that can be compensated through the court. Most common types of damages that can be compensated are compensatory damages, general damages, and punitive damages.
The most visible and identifiable damages caused to you by the defendant are called compensated damages. The compensatory damages can be compensated through various components such as monetary amounts for loss of income, damages of properties, and medical expenses including the costs of medical service providers. When you submit documents and evidence of injuries and damages of properties to an attorney, the attorney will determine the amounts of compensatory damages based on the documents and evidence.
The general damages are determined based on the compensatory damages and they are less tangible and less specific in comparison to the compensatory damages. The general damages comprise pain and suffering, loss of consortium, and mental anguish. In addition to this, the general damages also comprise the future loss of earning and future medical care. However, when general damages are determined, factors like plaintiff’s age, income, occupation, permanence and severity of injuries etc. are taken into consideration.
The punitive damages are meant for the defendant to punish him or her for their egregious activities. Each state has its own way of handling the punitive damages based on each different case of personal injury. Though punitive damages are difficult to achieve but once successfully obtained, the punitive damages exceed the compensation amount of general damages and compensated damages.
