In torts, the term “special damages” refers to tangible, measurable costs that can listed as line items. Examples would include medical bills, costs associated with property damage or lost wages.
General damage refers to items with less directly measurable cost. Examples of these would be emotional duress, pain, and suffering, the negative impact of defamation or loss of consortium. Both special and general damages can result from personal injury torts.
In order to hold a party or parties legally liable, four things need to be proven before a court will award damages
1. According to the circumstances, the party had a duty to act responsibly
2. This duty was breached by the party
3. The result of this breach brought harm to you
4. When the party breached its duty of care, the harm you suffered resulted in monetary damages
The rate at which personal injuries are compensated depends greatly on the severity of the injury. The more sever the injury, the greater the compensation. Injuries that cause intense physical pain like broken bones, brain damage or severed limbs will receive the highest awards in injury settlements.
Besides compensation for the injury itself, the circumstances resulting from the injury may entitle a person to continuing compensation if their employment or quality of life is negatively impacted. If you are not able to return to your job as the result of an injury, you are entitled to further compensation. Other recoverable expenses would include the loss of future earnings if your ability to work is impacted significantly, or any future medical bills that may result from your injury.
In the injured person owns and operates his or her own business, forensic accounting would be needed to assess the loss of profits when dividing pre-trial earnings compared to post-trial.