Non-Economic Damages

Damages that do not have a literal price tag can affect a personal injury victim just as much, and maybe more, than the financial burden that is often created. For example, suppose your favorite exercise and leisure activity is ballroom dancing. How much is it worth if you can no longer enjoy that activity because of lingering back pain from your personal injury? If it isn’t something you get paid to do, how are those damages assessed?

What Are Non-Economic Damages?

The phrase “pain and suffering” sounds like something we all go through on some level every day. We may use the term loosely for things as common as traffic jams that make us late for work or having to do some menial task at work to earn a paycheck. 

But in the context of a personal injury lawsuit, the phrase can be used to describe the harsh reality of daily life while trying to recover from a life-altering injury, especially when there may never be a full recovery. Non-economic damages compensate you for the pain and suffering you endure from a personal injury. 

In addition to pain and suffering, several other categories can be considered for the award of non-economic damages to a personal injury victim, including: 

• Mental anguish
• Physical impairment
• Loss of consortium
• Disfigurement

While all of these could be lumped under the broad category of pain and suffering, each has its own unique definition and criteria. The specific emotional distress you experience can be used to determine whether non-economic damages should be awarded and, if so, how much.

Mental Anguish

Perhaps one of the most common examples of mental anguish is post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). You may have flashbacks, nightmares, or a fear of a recurrence of the event, and avoid that situation. For example, if you were injured in a serious car accident, you may be afraid to drive or even ride in a car. This can obviously impact your everyday life, preventing you from going to work or enjoying events that require travel.

Physical Impairment

Even if your injuries heal, they can have lifelong effects. Injuries that prevent you from participating in activities you enjoyed before may be assessed for non-economic damages. Maybe you coached your kids’ softball team, but a back injury won’t allow you to run around the field like you did before your injury. 

Maybe you loved to paint portraits for your friends to give as gifts, but an injury that left you with carpal tunnel pain prevents you from using your hands and fingers as precisely as you used to. Maybe an accountant couldn’t apply an actual dollar figure to the loss of these activities in your life. However, to you and your loved ones, they were invaluable integral parts of the life you enjoyed before you experienced a personal injury.

Loss of Consortium 

Originally, loss of consortium claims in the law were based on marital relationships under the theory that a personal injury could deprive the victim’s spouse of sharing the enjoyment of life in their marital relationship. This principle may now be available under certain circumstances to other family members, such as a parent or a child of the injured victim.

Disfigurement

Unlike the other categories, disfigurement is a personal injury that can be observed, but it is the continuing emotional scars from that injury that are compensable as a source of non-economic damages. Permanent scars from burns and the loss of a limb are two common examples of disfigurement.

How do you prove non-economic damages in a personal injury lawsuit in Texas?

Now that you are aware of some of the sources of the recovery of non-economic damages due to a personal injury in Texas, you may wonder how these damages are proven. By their very nature, they are subjective and even invisible to an observer, and there is usually little proof of monetary injury to offer as evidence.

An experienced personal injury lawyer in Texas will know how these non-economic damages can be proven to compensate a client for even their invisible injuries. One of the most effective ways of proving these damages is to find a way to “paint a picture” for the jury using illustrations, demonstrations, and expert witness testimony. They can’t see the “numbers” so they must be able to understand the worth of the injury to the plaintiff.

A Lumberton Personal Injury Lawyer Can Help You Pursue Non-Economic Damages

It is often difficult to prove even economic damages with medical bills and other documentation. Just seeing the numbers doesn’t mean that the amount of the bills won’t be challenged by the other side. Since you may not have bills or other documentation to prove non-economic damages, it is exponentially more difficult.

A personal injury lawyer who has years of experience proving non-economic damages will know how to prepare your case for full recovery. They will fight the defendant’s lawyer’s attempts to minimize the unseen injuries you need to prove.