6 Categories of Personal Injury Damages You May Be Entitled To

Valuing your personal injury case is an essential part of determining how to pursue and receive the correct amount of damages you'll need both now and in the future. But how can you value your case? In fact, the process goes well beyond simply adding up the cost of your post-accident medical care. 



To help you fully understand what you may need — and deserve — compensation for, learn seven of the most common categories of compensation that may be involved in your case and how they are often determined.

1. Medical Treatment

First and foremost, you need to get well. Immediate costs of medical care is one of the easiest parts of a personal injury to value, as it's based on actual costs that have mostly been calculated by the time you need a valuation. However, as medical billings can be complicated, you need to be on the lookout for unexpected or unknown provider bills and billings that arrive weeks or months later. 

2. Loss of Income

Serious injury cases often prohibit the victim from continuing their income-producing activities for a period of time. This applies to wage and salary workers as well as those who are self-employed or run a business.

Calculating lost wages, once again, can be relatively easy for many workers who enjoy stable schedules. You might simply add up days or hours you were off work and multiply this by your wages (minus any paid leave). However, some victims will have to estimate how much work they would have otherwise received if not for injuries that prevented them from working. Independent professional consultants can often help. 

3. Loss of Consortium

Will your injuries permanently affect you in ways that make family relationships harder? Do you suffer effects like PTSD or mood changes? If so, you may have a case for loss of consortium with family members.

Loss of consortium refers to the personal family relationships that are affected by your injury or its consequences. It's most often applied in terms of loss of sexual intimacy with a partner or a changed relationship with them. However, some courts may also take into consideration changed personal relationships between the injured person and their parents, children, or other immediate family members. 

4. Property Damage

Not every personal injury case involves property damage, but it should be taken into account when valuing some accidents. The most common property damages involve motor vehicle accidents, but damage in an accident can include things like jewelry broken in a fall, , or damage to your home by a runaway vehicle. 

5. Pain and Suffering

Even if you recover fully from your injury, you still suffered during and right after the incident. The category of damages known as pain and suffering is one of the better-known types of damages, but it's not just a cliché. There is an actual definition. Any bodily injury sustained by the injured party and any resulting pain and suffering, disability or physical impairment, disfigurement, mental anguish, inconvenience, or loss of capacity for the enjoyment of life experienced in the past and/or to be experienced in the future. These are often referred to as non-economic damages. 

6. Long-Term Changes

If you will deal with permanent or very long-term injuries or illnesses, you may need to make adjustments in your life. These long-term changes may also vary quite a bit. Someone with reduced mobility may no longer be able to use their multi-story home, for example. Structural changes, such as installing a lift or adding accessible rooms to the main floor, might make it work, but these can be expensive. 

Gauging what you might need to change your life to accommodate permanent injuries is difficult. Not everything will be clear right away. You may also need to consult with professionals, such as contractors or medical providers, to figure out an estimated price tag for equipment, housing changes, or medical devices you may need in the future. 

Want to know more about categories of damages and how they are calculated? Start by meeting with an experienced personal injury attorney. Tampa Bay residents can call on the team at Jeeves Law Group. Our attorneys have more than 75 combined years of experience assisting with an array of injury cases and different clients. Call today to make an appointment or get answers to your pressing questions.