If you become injured due to someone else’s negligence or wrongdoing, you could be entitled to financial compensation. To receive this compensation, you must obtain evidence to prove the negligence and link the injuries & damages you experienced with the negligence of the other party. However, there are different types of compensation that you can include in your personal injury claim. Continue reading to learn and understand the different types of personal injury claims.
While specific compensation types vary state by state, this article will be explaining Georgia’s personal injury compensation types that can be awarded.
Damages
Damage is an overarching term for monetary awards that can be provided to victims of personal injury. There are three types of damages:
- Special Damages
There are three expenses that fall underneath special damages:
- Medical Expenses
If you experienced a physical injury due to the negligence of someone else, you could be reimbursed for your medical expenses. Medical expenses include ambulance transportation, emergency room costs, hospitalization costs, procedure and surgery expenses, doctor's appointment fees, medications, medical devices, and physical therapy. Georgia also includes medical expenses covering ongoing and future medical expenses.
- Property Damage
The most common personal injury case that includes property damage is a car accident. In the event of a car accident, property damages could be provided for the value of any necessary repairs or fair market value of items that were completely damaged.
- Lost Wages
More often than not, after experiencing a personal injury, the victim will have to take time off of work. Whether it is days, weeks, months, or indefinitely off of work, you could receive a reimbursement and potentially future payment for lost wages.
- General Damages
General damages mostly provide compensation for pain and suffering. This can include mental illness such as depression, anxiety, or post-traumatic stress disorder, disfigurement or physical impairment, lowered quality of life, grief over the loss of a loved one, and permanent disability.
- Punitive Damages
Punitive damages can be awarded if the party who acted with negligence to cause the personal injury was committing fraud or was acting in malice and/or misconduct to cause the situation. These damages act as more of a punishment for the negligent party.
It is important to note that all of these forms of damages can only be awarded if there is proper documentation and evidence of all of the expenses. Throughout your recovery from your incident, keep track of all of your bills, time off work, and other expenses that you could later receive compensation for.
If you believe you have suffered a personal injury where another party could be held liable, you should contact a personal injury attorney. Our attorneys at Hasty Pope are here to represent you in the process of receiving damages so you can focus on recovering. To discuss a potential case, schedule a consultation with us today.
Sources:
https://www.lilawyer.com/faqs/what-are-the-3-types-of-personal-injury-damages/
https://www.mithofflaw.com/personal-injury-compensation-types/
https://butlerfirm.com/lawrenceville-injury-lawyers/types-of-personal-injury-claims
https://www.forbes.com/advisor/legal/personal-injury/injury-compensation/
https://www.wpmhlegal.com/accident-guides/personal-injury-damage-types/