What are Damages in an Escondido Personal Injury Lawsuit?

Anyone who has been injured in an accident in Escondido or elsewhere in Southern California may be considering the possibility of filing a personal injury lawsuit. It is essential to know that personal injury lawsuits are civil lawsuits, which means that there are no criminal consequences for the party who is liable for your injury, but instead, there are typically monetary consequences. In short, by filing a personal injury lawsuit, you can seek damages — a monetary remedy — from the party whose negligence resulted in you getting hurt.

Whether you were injured in a motor vehicle crash, in a slip and fall accident, in a sexual assault case due to negligent security, or as a result of using a defective product, you could be eligible to file a civil lawsuit and seek damages. What types of damages can you anticipate seeking? Our Escondido personal injury lawyers can tell you more.

Economic Damages

Economic damages are a type of “compensatory damages,” which means that they compensate a plaintiff for losses they have experienced. Economic damages are specifically designed to compensate an injured person for direct financial losses. California law defines economic damages as “objectively verifiable monetary losses including medical expenses, loss of earnings, burial costs, loss of use of property, costs of repair or replacement, costs of obtaining substitute domestic services, loss of employment, and loss of business or employment opportunities.”

Nearly all personal injury lawsuits will seek economic damages.

Non-Economic Damages

Non-economic damages are also a type of “compensatory damages,” which means they are intended to compensate a plaintiff for losses connected to their injury. Unlike economic damages, however, non-economic damages compensate for losses that are not financial in nature and where there is not a clear and obvious dollar amount that the plaintiff should be compensated for the specific loss. California law defines non-economic damages as “subjective, non-monetary losses including, but not limited to, pain, suffering, inconvenience, mental suffering, emotional distress, loss of society and companionship, loss of consortium, or injury to reputation and humiliation.”

Most personal injury lawsuits will also seek non-economic damages.

Punitive Damages

Punitive damages are not a type of compensatory damages. Rather, this type of damage award is designed to punish especially harmful behavior by the defendant and to deter similar behavior in the future. Under California law, punitive damages will only be awarded if the plaintiff can prove “by clear and convincing evidence that the defendant engaged in that conduct with malice, oppression, or fraud.” Punitive damages are rarely sought in personal injury lawsuits, but they may be sought and awarded in especially egregious cases.

Contact an Escondido Personal Injury Attorney for Assistance

If you were injured in any type of accident caused by another party’s negligence, it is important to find out more about your options for filing a personal injury claim in Southern California. One of the experienced Escondido personal injury attorneys at our firm can talk with you today to find out more about your case and to provide you with information about the types of damages you may be able to receive if you file a claim. Once you feel ready to file, we are here to represent you every step of the way. Contact the Walton Law Firm for more information about the wide range of personal injury cases we handle and how we can assist you with your case.

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