After a car accident, slip-and-fall, or other situation where you’re hurt by someone else, you have the right to seek compensation from those at fault. Calculating how much to request can be complicated, especially if you’re unfamiliar with the legal process. By working with a Greenville personal injury lawyer, you have a better chance of maximizing your settlement amount.
Below, the team at Smith Jordan Law explains the three main types of damages in personal injury cases and discusses important laws that could affect what you receive.
Available types of personal injury damages in South Carolina
The three most common types of damages in personal injury cases are economic, non-economic, and punitive. For each of these, you must demonstrate negligence by the other party, showing the following elements:
- Duty: Your attorney should establish that the at-fault person owed you a duty of care to behave safely and reasonably.
- Breach: You must show how the defendant breached or failed in their duty of care.
- Causation: Through evidence, you should explain how the defendant’s actions or inactions directly led to your injuries and property damage.
- Damages: This is when you present your damage demands, listing every expense you’ve suffered as a result of the at-fault party’s negligence.
Because the other person can’t physically fix your injuries, they must be held financially liable so you can pay the doctors and other caregivers who help you heal. This is where damages work to compensate you for the harm they did to you.
Economic damages
Anything that has a specific price associated with it can be considered an economic loss. For example, your medical bills, income you aren’t earning while you heal, damage to your vehicle or other property, retirement plan investments you can’t make, medications, and other costs. It’s vital to keep a full record of every expense related to your injury so your Greenville personal injury attorney can include it.
Non-economic damages
The difference between economic vs. non-economic damages in personal injury cases is defined by whether the loss has a monetary value or a subjective one. Your mental anguish, pain and suffering, anxiety, depression, and loss of enjoyment of life are substantial factors in both your physical recovery and your ability to move forward after you’ve been hurt. Your lawyer can help you calculate these amounts, varying from person to person.
Punitive damages
Economic and non-economic damages are also called compensatory because they pay you back for what was taken from you, such as income, a functioning vehicle, and the cost of medical care. In situations where the defendant’s actions were willful, wanton, or reckless according to SC state law, your attorney can ask the court to consider awarding punitive damages. While compensatory damages are meant to compensate you for what you lost, punitive damages are meant to punish the defendant for their bad acts and deter similar future conduct.
To request this award, your lawyer must present clear and convincing evidence showing how the defendant’s actions meet the legal standard. This requires more robust documentation beyond your initial burden of proving negligence with a preponderance of the evidence.
Important SC laws that may affect your personal damage award or settlement
If you’re suing another individual or a company, you generally can receive the full value of your settlement or jury award when you win. However, there are certain situations in which your amount could be capped or limited. They are:
- Suing government agencies and officials: Under the South Carolina Tort Claims Act, your award may have limits depending on the circumstances of your claim.
- Filing a medical malpractice claim: While you can receive full economic damages, each defendant is only responsible for a max of $350,000 in non-economic losses, with a total of $1.05 million for all defendants, under the South Carolina Noneconomic Damage Awards Act.
- Receiving punitive damages: Under the same non-economic damage awards law, punitive damages may be capped in some cases at $500,000 or three times your economic damages, whichever is higher.
Personal injury damages are complicated
Every case is different because every client is different. At Smith Jordan Law, we build your case around who you are and how you’ve been affected by your personal injury. We don’t take a cookie-cutter approach because we work closely with you and tailor your case to how you’ve suffered and what you deserve. Use our online form to contact us, or call (864) 343-2222 to arrange a free consultation with a Greenville personal injury lawyer and learn more today.
