In a personal injury lawsuit, you may be eligible for economic damages, which is compensation for factors that can be verifiably calculated in dollar amounts. Under the umbrella of economic damages are two types: past and future.
Past Economic Damages
For costs you have already paid, you can recover past economic damages, including:
- Medical bills. If you have already paid for medical treatment or equipment, or for associated expenses like driving to and from treatment, you may be able to recover damages for these costs as part of economic damages.
- Lost income. While you were recovering from injuries sustained in your accident, you may have missed work, resulting in wages deducted from your paycheck. In a personal injury lawsuit, you can recover these losses.
- Child care and home maintenance. In many cases, personal injury lawsuits recognize that your duties within the home are just as important as the wages you earn outside the home. If you have had to hire someone to help you around the home, your attorney may seek compensation for this.
Future Economic Damages
Generally, a personal injury lawsuit will also obtain damages for losses you will sustain in the future, like:
- Medical treatment. Continuing medical treatment, skilled assistance you may need in the future, and medical equipment, among other costs, will be compensated for.
- Future income. When deciding how much to compensate you for future wages, the court will consider a number of factors: how many more years you would have been able to work, the salary you are currently making, and the rate at which that salary could be projected to increase over the course of your working loss.
- Employment benefits. If your job provides insurance or other benefits to you and your family, courts may order compensation to allow you to obtain these benefits elsewhere.
Contact a Maryland Personal Injury Attorney Today
If you've been injured in an accident, you need to speak with an experienced personal injury attorney as soon as possible. Please contact us online or call our Gaithersburg office directly at 301.840.0404 to schedule your free consultation.
