Your compensation in a South Carolina personal injury claim falls into two main categories: Economic damages and non-economic damages. If you want to understand economic vs. non-economic damages in Columbia, SC, personal injury cases, it’s fairly straightforward. Economic damages compensate you for your financial losses from an accident, while non-economic damages cover your intangible losses.
The key to maximizing your compensation in a personal injury claim is to work with a knowledgeable and capable attorney. Goings Law Firm, LLC has decades of experience handling these cases and knows what it takes to win the money you need. You’ll find a comprehensive guide to economic vs. non-economic damages below.
Economic Damages Explained
Economic damages in a personal injury case cover your financial losses after sustaining an injury someone else caused. This compensation helps cover the direct costs of the accident, providing essential funds to restore your financial stability. Some common examples of economic damages include:
- Medical Expenses: Economic damages can cover your full range of medical bills after an accident. This includes everything from emergency room visits and surgeries to long-term physical therapy, medications, and assistive devices. Any necessary and reasonable treatment costs related to your injury could qualify for reimbursement so you can access the care you need.
- Lost Wages: If your injuries force you to take time off work, economic damages can compensate you for your lost wages. This compensation helps you stay financially secure while you heal.
- Loss of Future Earnings: Some injuries create long-term limitations that reduce your ability to work in the future. Economic damages offer compensation for this lost earning potential, providing financial support if your injury impacts your career or forces you into a lower-paying job.
- Property Damage: If any of your personal property was damaged in the accident, economic damages can cover the costs of repairing or replacing it. This compensation helps ensure you don’t bear property repair expenses yourself.
- Out-of-Pocket Expenses: Severe injuries in South Carolina often come with extra, unexpected costs. Economic damages can cover transportation to your medical appointments, home modifications, or childcare expenses during your recovery. These damages help ensure you’re fairly compensated for necessary expenses directly related to your injuries.
Non-Economic Damages Explained
While economic damages are fairly easy to understand, non-economic damages can be harder to comprehend. When people ask, “What are non-economic damages?” the answer is that they cover your more abstract losses from an accident.
Quantifying non-economic damages is more difficult because they don’t have a fixed price. That said, your non-economic damages are a crucial component of a personal injury claim. An experienced South Carolina injury lawyer can help you pursue non-economic damages in your case, including compensation for:
- Pain and Suffering: Pain and suffering damages recognize physical pain’s toll on your life. This category includes both the immediate pain you experience after the accident and any ongoing discomfort you have.
- Emotional Distress: An injury can leave lasting emotional effects, such as anxiety, depression, or post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Accordingly, non-economic damages can compensate you for the mental and emotional strain resulting from the accident.
- Loss of Enjoyment of Life: Sometimes, severe injuries prevent you from enjoying activities or hobbies you once loved. Non-economic damages can provide compensation for this loss of enjoyment of life. These damages acknowledge the impact of being unable to engage in favorite pastimes or recreational activities.
- Loss of Consortium: Severe injuries may strain your close relationships, especially with spouses or partners. Non-economic damages help you account for the loss of companionship, affection, and support due to physical limitations from your injuries.
- Scarring and Disfigurement: When injuries leave permanent scars or lead to disfigurement, non-economic damages can compensate you for this impact on your appearance and self-confidence. These damages address the long-term emotional and social consequences of physical alterations or disabilities.
Is There a Cap on Economic and Non-Economic Damages in South Carolina?
In most South Carolina personal injury cases, there is no limit on your economic and non-economic damages. There are some exceptions to this rule, though. For example, in most medical malpractice cases, South Carolina law limits your non-economic damages against a single provider or facility. This limit changes every year according to inflation. For 2024, the non-economic damages cap for medical malpractice cases is just over $564,000.
It’s worth noting that this cap does not apply to all medical malpractice cases. State law specifies that there’s no limit on non-economic damages in medical malpractice cases if the defendant’s actions were “grossly negligent, willful, wanton, or reckless.” If you have any questions about the cap on non-economic damages, talk to a lawyer as soon as possible.
How Do You Prove Your Economic and Non-Economic Losses from an Accident?
Building a strong personal injury claim requires solid evidence to prove your economic and non-economic losses. The more robust your evidence, the clearer your case will be, which helps you secure fair compensation for all your losses. Here are some types of evidence that can support your claim:
- Medical Records: Your medical records highlight the treatments you received, which helps support claims for economic damages like your medical expenses. Your medical records also illustrate the severity of your injuries, which can help you justify pain and suffering damages.
- Pay Stubs and Employment Records: If you missed work due to your injury, pay stubs and employment records can demonstrate your lost wages. These records help establish how much income you missed during recovery, supporting your claim for lost wages. These documents also help you pursue compensation for lost future earning potential if your injuries affect your ability to work long-term.
- Photographs and Videos: Visual evidence of your injuries, property damage, and the accident scene can powerfully illustrate the accident’s impact. Photos of injuries can support claims for non-economic damages like scarring or disfigurement. Similarly, images of damaged property or the accident site can reinforce the severity of the incident and resulting economic losses.
- Personal Journals: Keeping a journal of your recovery process helps capture the daily pain, emotional struggles, and limitations you face. This personal record can vividly demonstrate your non-economic losses like emotional distress and loss of enjoyment in life.
Talk to a Columbia, SC, Personal Injury Attorney Now
The team at Goings Law Firm, LLC is firmly committed to helping you recover maximum compensation after an accident. Call us today at (803) 350-9230 for a free consultation, or you can reach out online. Check out our recent case results to know why you should trust us.
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