By: Graham R. Bickel, Esq.
When someone is injured because of another person’s negligence, the consequences often extend far beyond the initial trauma and medical bills. Pennsylvania law allows an injured person to seek compensation for the different ways an injury has affected—and may continue to affect—his or her life. These damages generally fall into two categories: economic damages and noneconomic damages. This article provides a breakdown of the difference between economic damages and noneconomic damages in a personal injury case in Pennsylvania.
Economic damages compensate an injured person for financial losses caused by the accident. Because these losses typically have a dollar amount associated with them, they are often easier to calculate than noneconomic damages.
Depending on the circumstances, economic damages may include:
For example, if an injured person is unable to work for six months, the income lost during that period may be recoverable. If the injury permanently limits the person’s ability to work or requires medical treatment for years to come, those anticipated future losses may also be part of the claim. At Messa Law we work with medical professionals, vocational experts, and forensic accountants to piece together every economic loss an individual and family have suffered.
Noneconomic damages compensate an injured person for the impact the injury has on his or her quality of life—things that don’t come with a bill or receipt.
Pennsylvania specifically recognizes four categories of noneconomic loss: pain and suffering, embarrassment and humiliation, loss of the ability to enjoy the pleasures of life, and disfigurement. These damages may compensate for both past harm and harm that is expected to continue into the future.
Consider someone who suffers a serious leg injury. The economic damages might include the cost of surgery, physical therapy, lost wages, and future medical care. But those numbers do not account for the physical pain of the injury, months of difficult rehabilitation, the inability to play with one’s children, giving up a favorite sport or hobby, or living with permanent limitations.
Those very real losses are the purpose of noneconomic damages.
Unlike medical expenses or lost wages, there is no formula for determining the value of pain, disability, or the loss of life’s pleasures. Pennsylvania juries are instructed to consider factors including the person’s age, the severity and permanence of the injuries, the effect on everyday activities, the nature and duration of medical treatment, and the extent of past and future pain and mental anguish.
Ultimately, a personal injury claim is about more than reimbursing bills. Full compensation means considering both the financial cost of an injury and the ways that injury has changed a person’s life. That is why at Messa Law, we take the time to get to know each client on a personal level so we fully understand and can advocate for everything that an individual has lost.
