Hartford Injury Lawsuits
Most injury victims want to know what type of damages they can receive before deciding whether to pursue their personal injury lawsuits. The types of money damages available in your case will depend, in part, on the type of injuries you have suffered and how those injuries have changed your life and the lives of your loved ones. To learn more about possible money damages in your case, please talk to our Hartford injury attorneys right away.
Compensatory Damages
If your personal injury lawsuit goes to a verdict, you and your loved ones may be awarded compensatory damages for economic and noneconomic losses. Although no amount of money can truly make life the way it was before a permanent injury, that is what compensatory damages are meant to do.
Economic Damages
Economic damages are the expenses and losses that translate to the dollar amount of your financial loss. Part of your economic damages are future economic damages, which can be a challenge to determine and prove and often require the help of an expert such as an economist, forensic accountant or vocational rehabilitation specialist.
Economic damages can include:
- Past, current, and future medical expenses
- Long-term care
- Home health care
- End-of-life care
- Rehabilitation and therapy
- Special equipment and home modifications to accommodate disability
- Reasonable out-of-pocket expenses such as travel required for medical treatment, or hiring help to perform tasks that you would normally perform but cannot due to your injury
- Past, current, and future lost income
- Lost earning capacity
- Vocational training
- Property damage
Noneconomic Damages
Noneconomic damages are damages that do not directly correspond to a dollar amount. They are difficult to calculate and to prove to a jury. Noneconomic damages can include:
- Physical pain and suffering and future pain and suffering
- Emotional distress
- Loss of the ability to enjoy life
- Permanent disability
- Loss of companionship
Loss of companionship is often awarded to the spouse of an injury victim rather than to the victim.
Punitive Damages
Punitive damages are rarely awarded. They are meant to punish the wrongdoer and to deter others from similar behavior rather than to compensate the victim. The jury must agree that the defendant’s behavior was outrageous, showing reckless indifference to the rights of others or was an intentional and wanton violation of the victim’s rights.
Punitive damages cannot exceed the cost of the personal injury lawsuit.
If you have been injured in the Hartford, Connecticut area, please contact the Hartford injury attorneys of Hastings, Cohan, and Walsh, LLP, right away to find out if you have a claim for an injury lawsuit and if you are entitled to monetary compensation.