What Are Non-Economic Damages in New York?
After being injured in an accident, you deserve to be compensated. Otherwise, you will suffer financially in addition to physically. But what about emotionally? Many injury victims don’t realize that they may qualify for non-economic damages in addition to funds for medical bills and lost wages.
So what are non-economic damages in New York? This is money to pay for how your life has been negatively impacted by your injuries and the accident.
Who Qualifies for Non-Economic Damages?
Anyone who qualifies to file a personal injury lawsuit can receive non-economic damages when they apply to his or her situation.
To file a lawsuit, someone else needs to have been negligent and at-fault for the accident. This can be another person, business, or even a government agency. Secondly, you need to have suffered harm in the accident. This could be a physical injury, disability, or even emotional injuries like post-traumatic stress disorder.
What Are Non-Economic Damages For?
Non-economic damages are intended to compensate you for the intangible ways an injury has impacted your life. The challenge with economic damages is that the money to compensate these direct expenses like medical bills and transportation do not go to you. They instead pay for things that you now require but would not have if the accident never occurred. The same is true for lost wages since you would have been working anyway.
The only way to receive true financial compensation for how your life has changed is through non-economic damages. How much you receive for these losses will be based on how thoroughly your life has been negatively impacted by what you’ve been through. This makes it necessary to work with an experienced attorney who can make a strong argument for why you deserve more money.
Examples of Non-Economic Losses
Non-economic damages are commonly broken up into a few broad categories:
- Pain and Suffering – This covers both your physical pain and your emotional anguish.
- Permanent Disability or Disfigurement – When your injuries will result in an irrevocable change to your appearance or physical capabilities, you should be compensated.
- Loss of Consortium – Some injuries, especially brain and spine injuries, can interfere with and damage your personal relationships, including lost sexual function.
- Emotional Distress – It’s not uncommon for accidents and injuries to result in emotional trauma such as anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
- Lost Enjoyment of Life – A disabling injury can easily prevent you from taking part in activities that once gave your life meaning.
Help from a Personal Injury Attorney
To speak with a personal injury lawyer about your case and to find out what it might be worth, call 1-800-VICTIM2 (842-8462). You can also reach Greenstein & Milbauer, LLP by using the contact form at the bottom of this page.