Top 10 Types of Personal Injury Damages

Personal injury damage are the monetary payment paid to an individual who sues after he is injured. When someone else negligently or intentionally injures you, you- or a family member- may be entitled to personal injury damages. Read on for the top 10 types of personal injury damages

1. Medical bills: These are the bills you have to pay as a result of the injury. Anything from doctor visits to physical therapy to costs of surgery can be compensable.
2. Lost wages- If you miss work and lose money as a result of your injury, you can recover that lost income from the defendant who caused the damage.
3. Compensatory damages- This a broad category that refers to anything necessary to compensate you or "make you whole." The aim is to put you back into the position you would have been in if the accident had never occurred.
4. Emotional distress- Some accidents and injuries can cause you to experience emotional pain. For example, you may have nightmares after the accident as a result of what happened. While the defendant can't take back what he did and make your emotional stress go away, you can recover monetary damages to compensate you for what you are going through.
5. Pain and suffering- If your injury causes you pain and suffering, again, you can't undo that pain but you can get monetary compensation to try to make up for it.
6. Loss of companionship- This is a type of damage your loved ones may be entitled to if you are injured in such a manner that you are no longer the same person. It is common in wrongful death claims, wherein the loved ones suffer damages because they no longer have you with them.
7. Loss of consortium- Like loss of companionship, loss of consortium is brought by the relatives of an injured victim. This type of damage is more specific, however. It refers to the loss of ability to enjoy a family relationship.
8. Wrongful death- A wrongful death suit is appropriate when an injury causes death. Damages are calculated by determining how much money the victim would have brought into the family had he not died, as well as by considering the loss of companionship that the family suffered as a result of the wrongful death.
9. Wrongful birth- Wrongful birth is a somewhat rare type of personal injury lawsuit in which a parent claims that a doctor did not disclose that the child would have serious problems when a reasonable doctor would have made such a disclosure. The claim is that had the doctor told the parents, the parents would not have had the baby. In such lawsuits, the damages are determined by considering the amount of money the parents must spend to care for the impaired child.
10. Punitive damages- These are damages awarded not to compensate the victim, but to punish the defendant. They are appropriate in cases where the defendant behaves in an especially egregious manner, doing something that was almost sure to cause injury. 

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