A Brief Explanation of the Fundamentals of Personal Injury Law Personal injury cases are legal disputes that arise when one person alleges that he or she suffered a harm due to the negligence, actions or omissions of another person(s) or entity(ies). Different aspects of a personal injury case are briefly discussed in this post. There are many different types of personal injury cases, although the most common ones involve motor vehicle accidents, slip/trip and falls, dog bites, defective products, and medical negligence. In general, an injured party who brings a personal injury case is seeking to recover monetary compensation that is equal to the amount of harm that he or she has incurred. There are two main types of monetary compensation recognized in personal injury cases, and those are economic damages and non-economic damages.
Economic Damages Economic damages refer to compensation for objectively verifiable monetary losses. The most common forms of economic damages are past medical bills, past lost wages and other out-of-pocket expenses (tow bills, rental car fees, etc.). In certain situations, an injured party may sometimes require a medical treatment for many years and possibly decades. Because personal injury cases cannot be delayed until the complete treatment has ended, economic damages may encompass future medical bills. Economic damages may also include future lost wages if an injured party can no longer do his or her job due to the injuries sustained.