Differences Between Economic & Non-Economic Damages in NY

In New York personal injury claims, both economic and non-economic damages may be available to plaintiffs, depending on the case. As a victim, you should learn what these damages mean and how they can help you heal after an injury.

In New York, economic damages attempt to compensate victims for the financial impact an accident has had on their lives, while non-economic damages attempt to compensate victims for the emotional impact. Calculating economic damages involves adding up expenses like medical bills and lost wages, while calculating non-economic damages requires an evaluation of your pain and suffering. Neither type of compensation is guaranteed to New York victims, especially if they share fault for their injuries. In order to successfully recover the compensatory damages you deserve in a New York personal injury lawsuit, you should hire an experienced lawyer who will fight for you.

Our attorneys are dedicated to helping victims throughout New York hold negligent parties accountable. For a free case evaluation with the New York personal injury lawyers at The Carrion Law Firm, call today at (718) 841-0083.

What Are Economic Damages in NY?

As a New York victim, it’s important to understand the potential damages available to you in a lawsuit against a negligent party. When you file a compensation claim in New York, the baseline amount in damages you recover should compensate you for economic losses.

In New York personal injury claims, economic damages attempt to compensate victims for the financial impact a negligent party’s actions have had on their lives. For example, suppose a defendant caused you injury and you require medical treatment. In that case, economic damages can compensate you for all past, current, and future medical expenses related to your injuries. Economic damages can also compensate New York victims for other types of treatment, like mental healthcare.

Often, New York victims are unable to work after sustaining serious injuries. When that happens, victims stand to recover economic damages for lost wages. Your experienced attorney can help you recover compensation for all past, current, and future lost wages due to your injuries.

If you’re unsure whether certain expenses warrant compensation via economic damages, reach out to a Queens personal injury lawyer. Your attorney can evaluate your case and advise you on the best path to recovery.

What Are Non-Economic Damages in NY?

New York victims can incur a wide range of damages as a result of a negligent party’s actions, including emotional damages. In a New York personal injury lawsuit, victims may be able to recover non-economic damages to help them heal after a devastating accident.

In New York, non-economic damages are often available to victims that file a lawsuit against a negligent party. These damages seek to compensate victims for the emotional impact of a defendant’s actions. Victims often suffer emotional injuries and physical injuries that require compensation. Pain and suffering, reduced quality of life, and mental health issues can be compensated for with non-economic damages.

Understanding non-economic damages can be challenging for New York victims, as there is not often an inherent monetary value for certain losses. Because of that, hiring an attorney is crucial. Your Rochester personal injury lawyer can explain how non-economic damages apply to your case and help you recover them.

How Do You Calculate Economic and Non-Economic Damages in NY?

Properly estimating appropriate damages in a personal injury lawsuit is crucial. Miscalculate, and you may end up recovering less compensation than you deserve. To correctly calculate economic and non-economic damages in a New York compensation claim, victims should turn to an experienced lawyer.

Economic Damages

While calculating economic damages can seem relatively straightforward, there are important things to consider. First, your attorney will add together all of your medical bills and lost wages resulting from your accident. Victims without an attorney might stop there, assuming that such losses are the only ones to be compensated for in a lawsuit. However, your attorney will know to anticipate future medical expenses related to your accident and lost wages. An experienced lawyer will also account for any hidden expenses from your accident that you may not have otherwise identified. Then, your attorney will add everything together to calculate the economic damages you should recover in a lawsuit against a negligent party.

Non-Economic Damages

Non-economic damages are notoriously difficult to estimate. Because emotional difficulties like pain and suffering do not come with a price tag, it can be challenging for New York victims to properly calculate the non-economic damages they deserve. That is where your personal injury attorney comes in. Using their experience litigating similar injury claims, your lawyer can prove a defendant’s fault and show how their actions have negatively impacted your life. This allows you to recover substantial non-economic damages. Often, non-economic damages are necessary for New York victims to heal. Don’t risk underestimating your non-economic damages and hire a skilled New York attorney.

Are NY Victims Guaranteed Economic and Non-Economic Damages?

While you, as a victim, understandably feel entitled to both economic and non-economic damages, neither is guaranteed when you file a lawsuit. It is important to understand this fact and certain New York laws that might prevent victims from recovering the damages they deserve.

When you file a lawsuit against a negligent party in New York, you are not guaranteed economic or non-economic damages. Even if a defendant is found responsible for your injuries and you are awarded economic damages, you may not be awarded non-economic damages. While there is a guideline for calculating the former, the latter is more subjective.

It’s important that New York victims understand that certain laws can impact their access to damages of any kind. New York is a pure comparative fault state, meaning victims’ awarded damages can be reduced by their liability. While you won’t be barred from recovering compensation if you share fault for your injuries, your damages may be reduced in proportion to your percentage of fault. New York’s comparative fault laws can greatly impact victims, especially those without knowledge of these hurdles. In order to prevent a defendant from avoiding liability for your injuries, turn to an experienced Brooklyn personal injury lawyer who can prove that the defendant is solely responsible for your financial and emotional losses.

Can NY Victims Recover Economic and Non-Economic Damages by Filing an Insurance Claim?

After an accident, victims may wish to recover compensation of any kind as soon as possible. Depending on the circumstances, you may be able to file an insurance claim. At first glance, filing an insurance claim rather than a lawsuit may seem preferable to injured victims who need immediate compensation. Unfortunately, insurance companies rarely properly compensate New York victims for their losses.

New York victims can recover more substantial economic and non-economic damages when they file a lawsuit instead of an insurance claim. Depending on the circumstances of your accident, New York’s no-fault laws may apply, leading you to file a claim with your own personal injury protection insurance. Victims may think they have a better chance of recovering compensation upon learning this. Unfortunately, that’s not the case. Regardless of which insurance company you file a claim with following your accident, you are unlikely to recover sufficient economic damages. In addition, insurance companies rarely compensate for non-economic damages at all.

Because of that, it generally serves New York victims best when they file a lawsuit against a negligent party. Victims are more likely to recover sufficient compensation when they sue versus file an insurance claim. If the thought of entering into litigation concerns you, speak to an experienced Buffalo personal injury lawyer. Your attorney can answer any questions you may have and explain how filing a lawsuit can help you recover the compensation you deserve.

It’s important that New York victims understand that once they accept a settlement offer from an insurance company, they will be barred from recovering additional compensation in a lawsuit. That means, if an insurance company does not award you non-economic damages in a settlement and you accept the offer, you cannot recover compensation for pain and suffering by suing a negligent party.

Does NY Impose a Cap on Economic and Non-Economic Damages?

Depending on the severity of an accident, New York victims may face incredibly expensive medical treatments and detrimental lost wages. In addition, the emotional distress that often accompanies severe injuries can alter a victim’s life. Because of the extreme losses victims often experience, it is important to learn whether or not there is a cap on economic and non-economic damages in New York.

In New York, there is no cap on economic damages. That means that victims can recover total compensation for financial expenses related to a negligent party’s actions, provided they are successful in a lawsuit. Again, no ceiling limits the economic damages you can recover in a New York personal injury lawsuit.

The same is true for non-economic damages. In New York, there is no cap on non-economic damages awarded to victims in personal injury claims. If your case goes to trial and is successful, a judge or jury will decide the non-economic damages you recover. If you choose to settle your lawsuit out of court, the non-economic damages you recover will be negotiated by your attorney and a defendant’s counsel.

Remember, just because there is no cap on either economic or non-economic damages in New York does not mean you will recover total compensation for your injuries. It remains important for victims to hire an experienced New York personal injury lawyer so that they can ultimately recover complete compensation for all damages caused by a negligent party’s actions.

How Can You Improve Your Chances of Recovering Economic and Non-Economic Damages in NY?

Because recovering economic and non-economic damages in a lawsuit is not guaranteed for New York victims, it is important to learn how to improve your chances of recovery. That starts with hiring an experienced lawyer to help you navigate the process. Alongside an attorney, victims can then compile the necessary evidence that thoroughly demonstrates their losses and an at-fault party’s negligence.

––Hire an Attorney

If you wish to recover total compensation for all losses related to an accident, hire a New York personal injury lawyer. Personal injury claims can be difficult to navigate, especially for seriously injured plaintiffs. Your attorney can gather evidence that proves a negligent party’s fault and illustrates the severe impact a defendant’s actions have had on your life.

A skilled Harlem personal injury lawyer can anticipate any potential problems or hurdles to your success, like comparative fault laws, and address them head-on, so they do not impact your case or access to compensation. Recovering sufficient economic and non-economic damages is not an easy task. To improve your chances of success, hire an experienced attorney.

Keep Records

In order to improve your chances of recovering both economic and non-economic damages in a New York lawsuit, you should keep all records pertaining to your injuries and their cause. For example, it’s important that victims keep every single medical bill from an accident. That includes bills from the immediate aftermath and any from continued treatment. Your medical bills will likely be the bulk of your financial losses, so it’s important that you keep any records related to such expenses.

New York victims should also keep records of past, current, and future lost wages. It is also important for you to keep any correspondence with an at-fault party informing them of your injuries and any police reports documenting an accident. Your Syracuse personal injury lawyer may advise you to seek support from a therapist or to keep a journal to demonstrate your need for non-economic damages. Any records indicating your losses, whether emotional or financial, can ultimately strengthen your New York compensation claim.

Our Lawyers Can Help You Recover Economic and Non-Economic Damages in NY

If you were recently injured in an accident in New York and require compensation, our attorneys can help. For a free case evaluation with the Utica personal injury lawyers at The Carrion Law Firm, call today at (718) 841-0083.