Personal injury claims and lawsuits are among the most common legal actions in the state of Florida, and the personal injury attorneys of Probinsky & Cole are proficient in researching, negotiating, and litigating these claims.

As common as these types of cases are, they cover a vast range of situations. In general, a personal injury case involves seeking damages for injuries to the body, mind or emotions (property is not covered in personal injury law). The person bringing the suit, known as a “plaintiff,” does so because they have suffered harm due to the negligence, reckless conduct, or intentional misconduct of another party (‘the defendant”). But all cases are not the same, and there are several categories of personal injury damage claims which may be requested.

Here are the types of personal injury damage claims which may be applicable in your case, and what they mean to you.

Definition of Possible Personal Injury Damage Claims

There are two broad categories of possible damages in a personal injury claim – compensatory and punitive.

The goal of compensatory damages is to financially compensate a victim for the injuries and harm which they have suffered. Compensatory damages are available in almost all personal injury cases, the most common of which being slip and falls, medical malpractice, auto and motorcycle accidents, and pedestrian accidents. These damages can be further broken down into general or special damages.

General Damages: General damages do not focus on the specific injury or medical bill incurred, but they rather address the suffering that is sustained from the injury. The purpose of these types of damages is to restore the injured party to their position or situation prior to any wrongdoing. These damages are non-economic, as they do not reflect the repayment of a billed dollar amount. Instead, the amount received for general compensatory damages is most often calculated by a personal injury attorney or decided upon by a jury.General damages provide the plaintiff with financial retribution to account for any pain and suffering. The most common types of general damages are pain and suffering, mental anguish, loss of enjoyment, loss of consortium, or emotional duress.
Special Damages: Special damages are awarded in addition to general damages, and cover those ongoing costs which are particular to the specific situation. Special damages are more commonly referred to as economic damages, and represent an actual dollar amount. Special damages vary significantly from one case to another as they are unique to each individual situation. The goal of special damages is to reimburse a victim for all money lost due to the accident that caused their injuries. These personal injury damages may include past, current, and future medical bills; the cost of medical equipment; home healthcare expenses; rehabilitation and therapy, loss of earning (both present and future) and miscellaneous costs associated with altered plans.

Punitive damages exist for a very different reason. These damages (also known as exemplary damages) are designed to both further punish the defendant, and to deter him from acting in the same manner in the future. These damages may be awarded in a civil lawsuit if the act of the defendant was determined to be intentionally malicious. A car accident may not have punitive damages attached to it; however an incident of road rage may very well generate the need for punitive damages.

Punitive damages are much less common, and are often relegated to personal injury cases involving prescription drugs, defective products, or medical malpractice.

Miscellaneous Possible Damages

Expectation damages are tied to breach of contract lawsuits.
Consequential damages are paid when the defendants actions caused harm, but may not be deemed negligent.
Aggravated damages are those which escalate from the original injury, but are not punitive in nature.
Nominal damages may be awarded to a plaintiff if actual financial loss cannot be definitively proven.
If you feel that you have been a victim of a personal injury and may be eligible to seek a personal injury damages claim, call Probinsky & Cole’s experienced Sarasota and Tampa attorneys. We are here to help, and to explain everything you need to know to recover financial compensation for your suffering.