When you’ve been injured due to someone else’s actions or inactions, navigating the legal system can be overwhelming. One of the most common questions we’re asked is, “What types of damages can I recover in a personal injury claim?” The answer is usually a mix of two broad terms: compensatory damages and punitive damages. While both types of compensation are meant to serve the victim, they do so in fairly different ways. To make things clearer for you, the Las Vegas personal injury lawyers at ER Injury Attorneys explain the differences between compensatory and punitive damages under Nevada law.
Compensatory Damages: Making You Whole Again
Compensatory damages are the most common type of award in personal injury claims. Their purpose, as their name suggests, is to compensate the injured party for their losses sustained. Compensatory damages try to “make you whole” by reimbursing the financial, physical, and emotional cost of your injury. Compensatory damages typically come in two types: economic damages and non-economic damages.
1. Economic Damages
Economic losses are tangible damages that can easily be quantified. They include:
- Medical expenses: This includes past, present, and future medical costs incurred as a result of your injury, such as hospitalization, surgery, medication, and physical therapy.
- Lost wages: If your injury forced you to miss work, you may be compensated for lost wages during recovery.
- Loss of earning capacity: If your injury renders you incapable of going back to work or prevents you from making a living in the future, you can be paid for this loss.
- Property damage: In vehicle accidents, this could be the cost of repair or replacement of your car.
2. Non-Economic Damages
Non-economic damages are intangible and include the non-physical losses you’ve sustained. These are:
- Pain and suffering: This refers to the physical hurt and emotional pain you are feeling because of your injury.
- Emotional trauma: Injuries can lead to anxiety, depression, or PTSD, and you could be compensated for these effects on your mind.
- Loss of enjoyment of life: If your injury prevents you from enjoying things you once loved to do, such as hobbies or spending time with family, you may be able to recover compensation.
- Loss of consortium: Loss of consortium is the impact your injury has placed on your marriage or family relations.
Compensatory damages aim to restore you to the same position you were in before the injury. They are not designed to punish the liable party, but to provide reasonable compensation for what you have lost.
Punitive Damages: Punishing Wrongdoers
While compensatory damages focus on the victim, punitive damages serve a different purpose. These damages are not tied to the specific losses you’ve suffered. Instead, they are meant to punish the defendant for particularly reckless, malicious, or egregious behavior and to deter others from engaging in similar conduct.
Punitive damages are less common and are typically awarded in cases where the defendant’s actions were especially harmful or intentional. For example:
- A drunk driver who causes a disastrous crash.
- A company that knowingly sells an unsafe product that injures its consumers.
- A health care provider who is grossly negligent, causing patient harm.
The big difference is that punitive damages are not intended to make the victim whole but to warn others. They are meant to punish the defendant and warn others from acting in an equally destructive way.
Top Nevada Lawyers Can Help You Recover Maximum Compensatory and Punitive Damages
The Las Vegas injury lawyers at ER Injury Attorneys are here with the information you need on compensatory and punitive damages. We’re also here for you if you’ve been hurt in an accident someone else caused. Our dedicated team of Nevada injury attorneys is ready to help with the claim process and get you the compensation you need.
ER Injury Attorneys is available to assist you 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. You can reach us right now by dialing 702-878-7878 or online through LiveChat. You can also fill out this contact form. ER Injury Attorneys represents accident victims throughout Southern Nevada, including Henderson, Summerlin, Pahrump, Boulder City, Laughlin, and beyond. Get in touch with us today to get the legal advocacy you need.