In Alberta Province, individuals who have suffered physical, mental, or emotional injury in an accident that was caused by another person’s careless or negligent behavior, may be entitled to compensation for damages. Damages are referred to as “compensatory.” In other words, they are intended to make the injury victim financially whole again. They cover a whole lot of categories including pecuniary and non-pecuniary damages.
Categories of Compensatory Damages
In legalese, the amount of money you recover or are awarded when you win a personal injury lawsuit is commonly referred to as “damages.” Not surprisingly, there are different types of damages that can be awarded. The two most common are general and special damages which are broken down as follows:
General damages – awarded to injury victims for non-monetary losses attributed to the careless or negligent behavior of another person. These damages typically include:
• decreased quality of life
• emotional distress
• loss of companionship
• loss of enjoyment
• pain and suffering
• permanent disfigurement and scarring
• physical impairment
Because of their personal nature and subjectivity, general damages can be extremely difficult to quantify or assign a dollar value to them. However, the personal injury lawyer in Medicine Hat adheres to the set methods for calculating the damages and giving it a monetary value. It has been seen that the compensation is maximized based on the level of injuries and trauma sustained.
When it comes to determining the amount of a general damage award, the court usually takes the following factors into consideration before rendering their decision:
• age of the plaintiff
• duration and severity of plaintiff’s pain
• emotional distress
• extent of disability caused by the accident
• impairment of mental and physical abilities
• loss of lifestyle
• nature and extent of plaintiff’s injuries
• plaintiff’s general health before the accident occurred
In many instances, the courts will also take previous similar cases into consideration when assessing damages. Nonetheless, each personal injury case is uniquely different and damage awards will vary as result. It is best to talk with your lawyer to understand the specifics of your case and how much damages you are entitled to.
Special damages – damages that are relatively easy to calculate and quantify. Damages of this nature are intended to reimburse the injury victim (or their family members) for out-of-pocket expenses attributed to the accident and plaintiff’s injuries. The more common special damages include home maintenance and housekeeping expenses, loss of earning capacity and estimated future income, lost wages, and medical and rehabilitation expenses.
If you or a loved one has recently sustained injuries in an accident that was caused by another person’s careless or negligent behavior, you could be entitled to compensation. Contact a personal injury today.