No one leaves their homes thinking that they'll be getting into a car accident, even though it happens approximately 160,000 times on an annual basis in Canada.
We know how terrifying (not to mention, painful) this can be. You might be concerned about paying for costs, or even the pain from your injuries.
After all, medical treatment and vehicle damage can have a steep price, even if you're accident is considered minor in nature.Â
That's when compensation for a car accident or compensation for motorcycle accident comes in the form of suing for damages.
Keep on reading for a full breakdown of what types of damages you can recover in a personal injury lawsuit.
Suing for Damages 101: The Types of Damages
In personal injury cases, your compensation will depend on the type of damage incurred in the accident and the harm caused to you.
This brings us to the different types of damages you can sue for in order to get the maximum compensation for your claim.
Special Damages
In the simplest of terms, special damages tackle all damages that are economical in nature. That's why they're also known as economic damages.Â
They cover any costs that the injured party will have to pay that can be quantified and easy to calculate.Â
For instance, this includes the coverage of all medical expenses that are related to the accident, like physical therapy costs, initial emergency care, diagnostic test expenses, surgery costs, and prescription medication costs.Â
Furthermore, special damages can incorporate any lost income that a victim suffers if they can't work during recovery. Also, this can entail the loss of future income if the injured party can no longer work due to a disability caused by the accident.
General Damages
Another concrete type of personal injury damages is general damages. These are known as non-economic damages and cover all forms of suffering (or unquantifiable loss) that the victim has to face due to their injuries.Â
There are common forms of general damages that personal injury victims have been awarded such as pain and suffering damages, and mental anguish damages.Â
As you might have noticed, these damages (unlike the special damages) can be harder to calculate. After all, they don't come attached with bills or medical records to properly quantify the suffering that the injured party endured.
Thus, you'll find that there are a couple of formulas that the justice system uses to calculate the general damages. For example, they can take the total sum of special damages and multiply them by a certain constant to get a solid figure.
Punitive Damages
Last, but certainly not least, punitive damages can be awarded in some personal injury cases.Â
Punitive damages were put in place with the aim to punish the person who inflicted suffering on the injured party for the sole purpose of deterring anyone else from engaging in that same harmful behaviour in the future.
They tend to be only awarded in cases where the defendant has been found guilty of intentionally harming the injured victim or gross negligence.
Get Back Control of Your Accident
There is no reason for you to stand alone after a car or a motorcycle accident.Â
After learning that suing for damages can lead to multiple forms of compensations, you know that you can get help with mitigating the damages that an accident may have caused you.
Furthermore, you can learn more about how a personal injury claim works, and contact us if you have any questions or concerns.
We'd love nothing more than to fight for you and get you the compensation you deserve.