In a personal injury case, damages that an individual can suffer aim to “make the plaintiff whole” following an injury. Although sometimes it is hardly possible to make the plaintiff whole, the aim is to best put the injured individual back into the state he would have been in had the injury not taken place (Goguen, 2016). Damage is a monetary compensation which is claimed by someone who has been injured because the other party conducted in a wrongful way. Two categories of damages are compensatory and punitive. Within these two categories, which are groups of things with rigidly defined limits and with the idea of classification, different types of damage can be found (Goguen, 2016). “Types of damage” is the phrase used to describe kinds of damage that share common characteristics (within a category, for example). Also “a type of damage” is a phrase which relates the damage to a sort of harm done to a person. Within compensatory damages category three types of damage are identified (Goguen, 2016). First, these are special damages. This type refers to the compensation that cover any loss or expense which is related to a person’s injury. The following types of special damages can be found: medical bills, loss of earnings, loss of future earnings, household expenses, cost of future medical care, and costs linked to cancelled trips or changed plans (Goguen, 2016). Second, these are general damages. Plus, there are damages that compensate for non-monetary damages that are incurred in a person’s injury claim. “General damages” means that these damages address harm generally sustained when a person receives an injury. The types of general damages that are the most common include: mental anguish, suffering and pain, as well as loss of companionship or consortium. Another type of damage is wrongful death damage: it refers to a compensation to the surviving family members (Goguen, 2016).
- Goguen, D. (2016). Types of compensation in a personal injury case. All Law. Retrieved from http://www.alllaw.com/articles/nolo/personal-injury/types-of-compensation.html.
