Understanding the Types of Damages Allowed for Personal Injury Claims in Florida

If you or a loved one has suffered injuries due to someone else’s negligence and you’re considering filing a personal injury claim, one of the main questions you might have is whether the amount of money you may recover would justify the costs of pursuing a lawsuit. While there are several factors involved in determining your potential recovery—and an experienced personal injury attorney will be able to guide you in light of your particular case—reviewing the different types of damages available may help you begin to understand what to expect. Under Florida law, the following types of damages are allowed for personal injury claims:

• Economic damages. Also referred to as special damages, economic damages help compensate you for the out-of-pocket expenses you’ve incurred due to your injury. For example, economic damages may include actual costs related to medical care, lost wages, and property damage, as well as future estimated medical expenses and future lost earnings.
• Non-economic or general damages. These types of damages are intended to address a broad range of non-monetary harms that you’ve sustained as a result of the injury. For instance, general damages may include pain and suffering (both physical and emotional/psychological), emotional distress, and loss of companionship or consortium, if the injury significantly impacted your relationship with a family member. Since general damages tend to be subjective, they may be more difficult to prove than economic damages but can exceed the value of the economic damages.
• Punitive damages. While the previous two categories are designed to compensate you for harms sustained due to your injury, courts may also award punitive damages in cases where the defendant’s actions were intentional or grossly negligent. Punitive damages are rare and are typically reserved for cases where the conduct on the offending party is so extreme that it exceeds all bounds of decency, or is intentional, or it appears the person committing the act was indifferent to the safety of others. The purpose of punitive damages is to  punish the defendant or deter similar actions in the future.

While it can be difficult to estimate the damages that may be available in a particular case, consulting an experienced Florida personal injury attorney is the first step in the process of building a strong case when you have been injured due to the negligence of another. At Leighton Panoff Law, we have obtained substantial verdicts for countless clients who have been injured in a variety of circumstances, including car accidents, slip-and-fall incidents, medical malpractice and much more. Call us today at 888.988.1774 to schedule a consultation and find out what damages you might be entitled to.