Parker & McConkie Personal Injury Lawyers

Non-Economic Damages

Free Case Evaluation
Non-Economic Damages

After sustaining an injury, you’re bound to suffer a number of losses. Some of these will be tangible, such as the money you’ll spend on services like physical therapy. Others are more internal yet just as harmful. For example, you might force yourself to socially isolate due to the disfiguring scars you got during an accident.

Fortunately, the law allows you to seek compensation for both types of losses to help get your life back on track. But in order to do so, you must know what you can recover in the first place so you can provide your personal injury attorney with a full account of all your losses. At Parker & McConkie Personal Injury Lawyers our team defended countless victims throughout our years of experience. Contact our law firm at (801) 845-0440 for a free consultation today.

Economic And Non-Economic Losses

Economic losses represent the financial impacts of your injuries, such as the following:

  • Past and future expenses for medical treatment, therapy, or medication
  • Out-of-pocket expenses for replacement services and home modifications
  • Lost income for missed work
  • Future diminished earning potential due to persistent disabilities

You can estimate your economic losses by adding up the costs from your bills, receipts, and other financial records. By contrast, non-economic losses have no established financial value. Instead, they represent the diminishment in your quality of life due to your injuries. For example, you may lose sleep over your health and financial concerns, or you may feel a reduced sense of worth if you cannot support your family or perform the work you trained for. The resulting erosion in your happiness and satisfaction with life represents your non-economic losses. The money you stand to receive here cannot replace what you’ve lost, of course, but it can compensate you for the changes you have endured since.

Examples Of Non-Economic Losses

Non-economic losses can take many forms, including the following:

Pain

As simple as it may sound, your brain has difficulties ignoring painful sensations. It can keep you awake and make it impossible for you to sit, stand, or even lie down comfortably. These sensations can limit your mobility, thereby restricting the range of activities you can enjoy. All of these effects qualify as non-economic losses.

Mental Suffering

Injuries can cause anxiety in many ways. You might ruminate over how you will pay for treatment. Concerns about returning to work and earning a living may also plague your thoughts. And you will likely worry about how your injuries will impact your long-term health. In some highly traumatic cases, like those involving truck accidents, you might develop post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), an anxiety disorder that causes you to become sensitized to triggers associated with the trauma. On paper, that response is meant to protect you from a repeat incident. However, it is far more likely to produce the following debilitating symptoms:

  • Nightmares
  • Flashbacks
  • Emotional outbursts
  • Paranoia

The anguish and distress that erodes your happiness qualify as non-economic losses.

Disability

Disabilities occur when your injuries limit your physical or mental capabilities. They can affect you in any of the following ways:

  • Preventing you from working
  • Interfering with your ability to perform household tasks, like cleaning
  • Diminishing your ability to care for yourself
  • Preventing you from caring for your child
  • Affecting your ability to engage in hobbies and recreation

Non-economic losses in these circumstances represent the erosion of your mental and physical well-being due to your disabilities.

Disfigurement

Disfigurement occurs when an injury alters one’s appearance. Scars, lost body parts, and dog bites may qualify as disfiguring injuries. Disfigurement has both physical and psychological effects. You have losses simply because your injury affects your physical appearance. But you also have losses from the toll this disfigurement takes on you. For example, you might experience social anxiety, embarrassment, and other effects for which you have a right to receive compensation.

Dismemberment

Losing a body part, no matter how small, can affect you physically and mentally. Physically, you have the loss of the body part and the functions it performs. Mentally, you will mourn the loss, potentially leading to feelings of both depression and anxiety.

Calculating Non-Economic Losses

Utah, Idaho, and Wyoming allow their juries to award compensation for non-economic losses based on their reasoned judgment. For example, Utah jury instructions state that there is no fixed rule, standard, or formula for calculating non-economic losses. Instead, the jury will look at the severity of the person’s injuries and the effects those injuries have on the person’s life. For example, more severe injuries, such as those that cause permanent disabilities, justify greater non-economic compensation.

Contact the Utah Personal Injury Lawyers at Parker & McConkie Today

For more information, please contact an experienced personal injury lawyer at Parker & McConkie to schedule a free initial consultation today. We have 5 convenient locations in Utah, including Midvale, Salt Lake City, Ogden & Provo, UT. Clients can also visit our offices in Idaho Falls, ID & Rock Springs, WY.

We proudly serve Weber County, Utah County, Salt Lake County in Utah, Bonneville County in Idaho, Sweetwater County in Wyoming , and its surrounding areas:

Parker & McConkie Personal Injury Lawyers – Salt Lake City Office
466 S. 500 E., Suite 100,
Salt Lake City, UT 84102

(801) 851-1202
Hours: 24/7

Parker & McConkie Personal Injury Lawyers – Midvale Office
7090 Union Park Ave, #160,
Midvale, UT 84047

(801) 845-0440
Hours: 24/7

Parker & McConkie Personal Injury Lawyers – Ogden Office
2510 S Washington Blvd, Suite 160,
Ogden, UT 84401

(385) 402-8187
Hours: 24/7

Parker & McConkie Personal Injury Lawyers – Provo Office
37 E Center St, Suite 300,
Provo, UT 84606

(801) 876-4107
Hours: 24/7

Parker & McConkie Personal Injury Lawyers – Rock Springs Office
531 N Front St,
Rock Springs, WY 82901

(307) 205-7400
Hours: 24/7

Parker & McConkie Personal Injury Lawyers – Idaho Falls Office
2235 East 25th St. Suite #280,
Idaho Falls, ID 83404

(208) 418-0633
Hours: 24/7

Our Locations

Call Now Button