When you file a personal injury case in Washington, DC, you need to be well-informed about the processes and outcomes. It is important to understand what types of damages you can get and what they entail. Therefore, this article will expound on the three main types of damages in injury claims in DC.

Special Damages

Special damages are one of the two types of compensatory damages often awarded to personal injury claimants in DC. Essentially, these are damages you can get a certain amount of money for; it is the most commonly sought damages. “Special damages are designed to correspond directly to the losses an individual endures in an accident,” says Personal Injury Attorney John Yannone of Price Benowitz Accident Injury Lawyers. As such, there is no fixed amount for these damages; how much you get depends on how much you have lost.

Generally, however, special damages are those you can easily prove and calculate with receipts and invoices. With that said, below are the different examples of special damages you can get in Washington, DC:

  • The cost of rehabilitation includes physical therapy, occupational therapy, and speech therapy, and any other treatments needed for full recovery.
  • Medical expenses, covering doctor visits, extended hospital stays, and emergency medical care.
  • Lost wages, resulting from your inability to return to work soon enough following your accident.
  • Lost earning capacity, including the losses caused by your inability to ever return to work due to the severity of the injuries you suffered.
  • Property damage
  • Out-of-pocket expenses such as transportation costs or expenses made to modify your home to accommodate your disability needs.

General Damages

 

The second type of compensatory damages, general damages, are losses you cannot represent in actual monetary value – they are unquantifiable. The essence of these damages is to help you recover from the emotional, mental, and physical repercussions of the accident.

However, these damages can be difficult to calculate, particularly since they are intangible and you have no receipts or invoices to demonstrate them. The different examples of general damages available to a Washington, DC personal injury claimant include:

  • Pain and suffering, which compensate for your pain, have significantly reduced your quality of life. The more severe your injuries are, the bigger the amount you can claim as compensation for pain and suffering. For example, someone who has suffered a permanent disability will potentially get higher compensation than someone who has suffered PTSD.
  • Emotional distress, covering compensation for emotional suffering, depression, and anxiety resulting from the accident or your injury. To claim these damages, however, a certified medical practitioner has to demonstrate evidence of how the accident caused you to suffer.
  • Loss of enjoyment of life is awarded to individuals who have lost their ability to enjoy their hobbies due to their injuries.
  • Loss of consortium provides compensation for the loved ones of the personal injury victim who has died from their injuries.

Punitive Damages

Unlike the two damages above, punitive damages are non-compensatory damages, meaning they are not meant to compensate you for your losses. Instead, a DC court may award damages to punish the defendant for their negligent or reckless behavior and deter future recurrence.

Meanwhile, punitive damages are only awarded in cases where the defendant’s actions were exceptionally negligent or reckless. Below are the examples of punitive damages that injury claimants in DC might be entitled to:

  • Fraud – when the at-fault party intentionally defrauds or deceives you;
  • Gross negligence – when the defendant’s careless actions put others’ lives in danger.
  • Defamation – awarded in cases where the defendant maliciously spreads false information about the plaintiff to tarnish the latter’s reputation.

Conclusion

If you are injured in Washington, DC, due to another person’s negligent or reckless behavior, you might be entitled to compensation. We have explained the various types of damages you might be able to claim, depending on the nuances of your claim. Considering the nature of these damages, however, you should consult a DC personal injury attorney to ensure the accurate valuation of your losses.