7 Types of Damages You Can Recover After an Injury

After an injury caused by someone else, you can usually recover 7 types of damages: medical expenses, lost wages, lost earning capacity, pain and suffering, emotional distress, loss of consortium and property damage. The first 3 are economic losses you prove with bills and pay records. The rest depend more on how the injury changed your life.

1. Medical expenses, past and future

You can recover the cost of treatment already received and treatment you will reasonably need. That includes the ambulance, ER, surgery, physical therapy, prescriptions, medical equipment and mileage to appointments.

States measure past bills differently. In Texas, recovery is "limited to the amount actually paid or incurred" under Civ. Prac. and Rem. Code §41.0105. A $60,000 hospital bill that your insurer paid at a negotiated $22,000 counts as $22,000.

Future care needs a doctor's opinion on what treatment is likely and what it will cost. For a spinal fusion patient, that might include a second surgery in 10 years. Whoever paid your past bills may claim part of this recovery, as our guide to medical liens explains.

2. Lost wages

Lost wages cover the pay you missed while recovering, including overtime, bonuses and sick or vacation days you had to use. You prove them with pay stubs, tax returns and a letter from your employer listing the dates you missed.

In no-fault states, PIP replaces part of this early. Florida PIP pays 60% of lost income within its $10,000 limit. The rest comes from the at-fault driver if you meet the state's injury threshold.

In a physical injury case, lost wages you recover are generally not taxable. Our guide to whether settlements are taxable covers the exceptions.

3. Lost earning capacity

Lost earning capacity pays for the reduced ability to earn money in the future, not just the paychecks already missed. California's jury instruction, CACI No. 3903D, treats it as a separate loss, and proof of past earnings is not required.

That matters for students, new workers and anyone who changes careers because of an injury. A 24-year-old electrician who can no longer climb ladders and moves to a job paying $20,000 less a year has a claim covering decades. Over 30 working years, that gap is $600,000 before any discount to present value.

These claims usually need an economist or vocational expert to calculate the gap. Courts also guard against counting the same loss twice under both lost wages and lost earning capacity.

4. Pain and suffering

Pain and suffering compensates the physical pain of the injury and its treatment, now and in the future. California's CACI No. 3905A tells jurors that "no fixed standard exists" for these damages and that they must use judgment and common sense.

Insurers often estimate them with a multiplier of medical bills or a daily rate. Neither is a legal rule. Our guide to pain and suffering damages walks through both methods with numbers.

5. Emotional distress and loss of enjoyment of life

You can recover for anxiety, depression, sleep problems and fear that follow an injury, and for losing activities you used to enjoy. CACI No. 3905A lists "loss of enjoyment of life," "disfigurement," "anxiety" and "humiliation" among noneconomic damages.

A runner who can no longer race after a knee injury, or a parent who cannot lift a child for months, has this kind of loss. Journals, photos and statements from family members are the usual proof.

No-fault states limit these claims. In Florida, New York and the other 10 no-fault states, you can sue for noneconomic damages only after meeting a serious-injury or medical-bill threshold, according to the Insurance Information Institute.

6. Loss of consortium

Loss of consortium is your spouse's own claim for what the injury took from your marriage. Under California's CACI No. 3920, it covers the loss of "love, companionship, comfort, care, assistance, protection, affection, society, and moral support," plus sexual relations.

California requires a valid marriage, an injury to the spouse caused by the defendant, and a real loss. The spouse usually joins the lawsuit as a separate plaintiff, so the claim must be filed on time.

7. Property damage

Property damage covers repair of your car, or its actual cash value if it is totaled, plus damaged items inside such as a phone, laptop or child car seat. Keep repair estimates, receipts and photos taken before any repair. If your car is totaled, ask the insurer for the list of comparable vehicles it used to set the value, and check the trim and mileage.

Against the at-fault driver's insurer, you may also claim diminished value, the drop in resale price after a crash. A Texas Department of Insurance bulletin says a liability insurer may owe a third-party claimant "any loss of market value," even after a complete repair. Your own insurer generally does not owe it.

What should you gather now?

• Every medical bill, explanation of benefits and pharmacy receipt, plus a log of mileage to appointments.
• Pay stubs from the 3 months before the injury and an employer letter listing missed days and lost overtime.
• Notes from your doctor on future treatment and work restrictions, which support future medical and earning capacity claims.
• A short weekly journal of pain levels, sleep and activities you missed.
• Repair estimates, photos and a note of your car's mileage and condition before the crash.

Also check the at-fault party's insurance. A driver carrying a $30,000 per-person liability limit may not cover a $200,000 claim, which makes your own underinsured motorist coverage part of the recovery.

When you talk to a lawyer, ask which of these 7 categories they would claim in your case and how they would prove future losses. Our list of questions to ask a personal injury lawyer covers the rest.