What Damages Does a Personal Injury Law Firm Pursue For You

Been involved in an accident and wondering what damages you can recover?

If you’ve been hurt, you might not know what damages you can actually pursue. Most people accept whatever the insurance company first offers them. They usually end up settling for much less than what they deserve.

But that’s not how you should do it. When you hire the right personal injury law firm, they’ll pursue every single damages category on your behalf. Let’s take a look.

Table Of Contents:

• Why Damages Matter In A Personal Injury Case
• Economic Damages You Can Pursue
• Non-Economic Damages You Can Pursue
• Punitive Damages: When Do They Apply?
• How Do Personal Injury Attorneys Maximize Your Compensation?

What Damages Does a Personal Injury Law Firm Pursue?

Personal injury attorneys pursue all forms of compensable damages including:

• Medical expenses (present and future)
• Lost wages and loss of earning capacity
• Pain and suffering
• Property damage
• Emotional distress
• Loss of consortium

You get the idea. Hiring the right personal injury law firm means you can recover 100% of your losses.

Ready to learn more? Let’s dive in.

Why Damages Matter In A Personal Injury Case

In personal injury cases, damages refer to the money you can recover after being injured by someone else.

Simple concept, right? Wrong.

Insurance companies love nothing more than attempting to minimize your claim. They have teams of professionals whose sole job is to pay you as little as possible.

That’s why you should always hire a trusted San Diego personal injury lawyer after getting hurt. An experienced personal injury law firm knows what damage categories apply to your case. They also know how to properly value each category.

Why should you care?

Statistics show that those who hired a personal injury lawyer received payouts that were nearly triple the amount of those who were unrepresented. That should be reason enough.

When you hire the right personal injury law firm, they will:

• Identify every possible category of damage. Most people never consider half the damages available to them.
• Properly document your losses. If you don’t have proof of your injuries and losses, the insurance company won’t pay you.
• Negotiate from a position of power. Insurance adjusters hate personal injury lawyers. They know you’ll win if it goes to court.

Curious to see what categories of damages your attorney will pursue? Keep reading.

Economic Damages You Can Pursue

Economic damages are the easiest type of damages to calculate. Essentially, they consist of anything you can prove you lost money on because of your accident.

Medical Expenses

This is typically the largest category of damages in any personal injury case. Medical expenses can include:

• Emergency room visits
• Hospital stays
• Doctors/Appointments
• Prescriptions
• Rehab and physical therapy
• Medical equipment (crutches, wheelchairs)
• Future medical care

Pro tip: make sure your lawyer calculates future medical expenses. A lot of people only claim what they’ve already paid.

Lost Wages & Loss of Earning Capacity

Were you unable to work because of your injury? If so, you can recover those wages.

But it doesn’t stop there… You can also recover lost earning capacity. This covers cases where you can no longer perform the work you once did.

For example: if you were a manual laborer but are no longer able to lift because of your injuries, you’ve lost your ability to earn at the same capacity.

Property Damage

Property damage can include your car, phone, computer, clothing, or anything else that was damaged during the incident.

Keep in mind that the average auto liability claim for bodily injury reached 27,373 USD in 2024. This number continues to rise, and it only accounts for bodily injury (your car damages would be separate).

Non-Economic Damages You Can Pursue

As you might have guessed, non-economic damages are every bit as important as the ones above. They’re just a little more difficult to value.

Pain and Suffering

Pain and suffering damages compensate you for.. you guessed it.. the pain you’ve been going through because of your injuries.

There’s no exact formula lawyers use to calculate this. But there are a couple of methods we use.

1. The multiplier method: Your economic damages are multiplied by a number (usually between 1.5-5) depending on severity of injury.
2. The per diem method: A daily rate is applied to your pain and suffering. This daily rate is multiplied by the number of days you’ve “suffered”.

Loss of Enjoyment of Life

Similar to pain and suffering, loss of enjoyment of life damages will compensate you for the activities you can no longer do because of your injuries.

Emotional Distress

Let’s face it. Car accidents aren’t only physically damaging. They can really mess with your mental health too.

Damages for emotional distress can include anxiety, depression, PTSD, trouble sleeping, or even overall enjoyment of life.

Loss of Consortium

The final category of damages we’ll mention is loss of consortium. These damages are meant for your spouse or family members.

If your injuries affected your relationship with your spouse (sex life, companionship, ability to parent, etc.) then your spouse may be entitled to damages as well.

Punitive Damages: When Do They Apply?

When does punitive damages apply?

Here’s the big difference between punitive damages and the damages we discussed above.

Punitive damages aren’t awarded to compensate you for your losses. Instead, punitive damages exist to punish the person who caused your injuries.

For example: drunk drivers are typical candidates for punitive damages. But other cases can include companies who knew their product was dangerous, or anyone who shows willful negligence.

Not every personal injury case is eligible for punitive damages. But when they do apply, they can dramatically increase your overall award.

How Do Personal Injury Attorneys Maximize Your Compensation?

Now that you know what types of damages there are, let’s discuss how your personal injury law firm will get you every penny of it.

It’s one thing to know damages exist. It’s another thing to actually get paid by the insurance company.

Statistics show that around 91% of people who hire an experienced personal injury attorney end up receiving a settlement payout. On the other hand, only about 51% of those who don’t hire a lawyer received compensation.

Here’s how we maximize your payout:

• Investigation: We collect all evidence we can find to support your claim. We interview witnesses, analyze police reports, and even recreate how the incident happened.
• Expert Witnesses: Injury attorneys rely on medical experts, accident reconstructionists, and economists to testify on your behalf.
• Negotiation: We handle all communications with the insurance company so you don’t accidentally hurt your chances of maximizing your payout.
• Litigation: If the insurance company refuses to offer a fair settlement, we file a lawsuit and take your case to court.

Did you know that around 95% of all personal injury lawsuits end in a pre-trial settlement? Having a skilled attorney who can negotiate with the insurance company is crucial.

Final Thoughts

Life sucks when you’ve been injured by someone else’s negligence.

You’re faced with piles of medical bills, lost wages from being unable to work, and the stress of the situation takes a toll on you and your family. To make matters worse, the insurance company is going to do everything they can to avoid paying you.

That’s why hiring a skilled personal injury law firm is so important. Not only will they know every category of damage you can claim, but they will also fight tirelessly to recover every dollar you’ve lost.

Don’t risk doing it yourself. Hire a qualified personal injury law firm and watch them recover every penny of your damages.