{"id":352935,"date":"2016-04-04T10:46:31","date_gmt":"2016-04-04T15:46:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/content.findlaw-admin.com\/ability-law\/injury\/accident-injury-law\/economic-recovery-for-accidents-and-injuries.html"},"modified":"2025-10-09T12:21:29","modified_gmt":"2025-10-09T17:21:29","slug":"economic-recovery-for-accidents-and-injuries","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.findlaw.com\/injury\/accident-injury-law\/economic-recovery-for-accidents-and-injuries.html","title":{"rendered":"Types of Economic Recovery in Injury Cases"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\n

Types of Economic Recovery in Injury Cases<\/h1>\n\n
\n
\n By Ty McDuffey, J.D.<\/a> | Legally reviewed by Katrina Wilson, Esq.<\/a>\n | Last updated\n
\n \n <\/i>\n Legally Reviewed\n <\/summary>\n\n
\n

This article has been written and reviewed for legal accuracy, clarity, and style by FindLaw\u2019s team of legal writers and attorneys<\/a> and in accordance with our editorial standards<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/details>\n\n

\n \n <\/i>\n Fact-Checked\n <\/summary>\n\n
\n

The last updated date refers to the last time this article was reviewed by FindLaw or one of our contributing authors<\/a>. We make every effort to keep our articles updated. For information regarding a specific legal issue affecting you, please contact an attorney in your area<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/details>\n<\/section>\n\n\n

\n
\n
\n

Key Takeaways<\/h2>\n

If someone else’s actions or negligence harms you, they may be liable to pay you compensation. The amount of compensation depends on what your losses include. There are many types of personal injury damages you might recover.<\/p>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

If you’ve suffered harm as a result of a car accident or injury, you may be entitled to receive economic recovery from those who are at fault and their insurance company.<\/p>\n

What you can recover will depend upon the\u00a0kind of damages<\/a>\u00a0you experienced because of the auto accident or injury,\u00a0both during and after the incident. In some cases, your family members may also be entitled to recover to the extent that your injury affected their relationship with you.<\/p>\n

This article defines almost every type of legal compensation available to a plaintiff in a personal injury lawsuit<\/a>. An experienced personal injury attorney<\/a> will explain your options. They will work to retrieve all compensation you are entitled to receive after a car accident or another type of case.<\/p>\n

Disfigurement Damages<\/h2>\n

When an accident or injury has left a person deformed or disfigured, the injured person may be able to collect damages for the\u00a0disfigurement<\/a>. These damages are sometimes included as an element of other types of damages, such as mental anguish.<\/p>\n

Future Medical Expenses<\/h2>\n

This type of recovery is permitted if the accident victim proves that they will need continued medical care as a result of the accident or injury. The proof must be sufficient for the jury to make an approximate estimate of the future medical costs through the medical opinion of a treating doctor.<\/p>\n

General Damages<\/h2>\n

Sometimes referred to as non-economic damages, general damages attempt to measure the difference between what the victim’s life would have been like without the accident and what the victim’s life has been like because of the accident. General damages are a broad category. It includes pain and suffering, loss of enjoyment of life, and all other injuries that cannot be determined with mathematical certainty.<\/p>\n

Household Services<\/h2>\n

The cost of hiring somebody to do things around the house while the plaintiff is recuperating from an accident or injury may be compensable, provided that the expense would not have been incurred had the plaintiff not been injured. These kinds of damages are sometimes included as part of medical expenses.<\/p>\n

Loss of Consortium<\/h2>\n

Deprivation of the benefits of married life after an accident or injury \u2014 affection, solace, comfort, companionship, society, help and assistance, and sexual relations between spouses \u2014 can be a basis for loss of consortium damages. Usually, the uninjured spouse makes this claim, and their financial recovery will depend on whether the injured spouse recovers any damages.<\/p>\n

A close relative like a parent or a child of the accident victim can also bring this claim. In some cases, the injured person will make the claim as well.<\/p>\n

A value is placed on this loss by considering the couple’s individual life expectancies, whether the marriage was stable, how much care and companionship was bestowed upon the uninjured spouse or vice versa, and the extent to which the benefits of married life have been lost. Usually,\u00a0loss of consortium damages<\/a>\u00a0are only available when the spouse has been seriously injured and at least temporarily disabled.<\/p>\n

Loss of Enjoyment of Life<\/h2>\n

A diminished ability to enjoy the day-to-day pleasures of life, loss of enjoyment\u00a0is usually an item of general damages. There is no precise way to place a monetary value on it. Some states treat it as a form of pain and suffering, while others treat loss of quality of life as a distinct kind of damage in an accident or injury case.<\/p>\n

Loss of Society and Companionship<\/h2>\n

In\u00a0wrongful death<\/a>\u00a0cases, loss of society and companionship damages represent the positive benefits flowing from the love, comfort, companionship, and closeness that the plaintiff(s) (immediate family members) would have enjoyed had the decedent lived. A jury considers evidence that a harmonious relationship existed between the plaintiff and the decedent, their living arrangements, common interests,\u00a0activities, and whether the decedent and the plaintiff were separated for extended periods.<\/p>\n

These damages are related to loss of consortium\u00a0and loss of consortium of a child, which is\u00a0sometimes referred to as\u00a0filial consortium.<\/p>\n

Lost Earning Capacity<\/h2>\n

After an accident or injury, these damages may be recovered if the plaintiff proves that\u00a0their\u00a0ability to earn money in the future has been impaired or diminished by the injuries. Factors that help determine whether an award should be made include the plaintiff’s age, health, life expectancy, occupation, talents, skills, experience, and training.<\/p>\n

Past earnings are a factor in determining the appropriate amount of compensation for lost earning capacity, but the claim really focuses on what might have been earned were it not for the accident or injury.<\/p>\n

Lost Income<\/h2>\n

These damages represent the amount of money a plaintiff would have earned from the time of the injury to the date of settlement or judgment. An unemployed person may be permitted to recover lost wages<\/a> if they can prove what could have been earned during the same period.<\/p>\n

Medical Bills<\/h2>\n

Bills and expenses for medical services such as doctors, hospital stays, emergency room treatment, ambulance fees, and nursing services may be compensable. A plaintiff must show that the expenses are related to medical conditions resulting from\u00a0their\u00a0injury. The total amount of medical expenses is sometimes used as a rough guide to decide whether the overall award of damages is reasonable. Note that the cost of medical treatment for purposes of litigation<\/a> is not ordinarily recoverable as a medical expense.<\/p>\n

Mental Anguish<\/h2>\n

Mental anguish includes any mental suffering or\u00a0emotional distress<\/a>\u00a0associated with an accident or injury, including:<\/p>\n