After a severe injury, fully recovering your health should be your number one priority. It’s also important to recover your financial health. If your injury was caused by negligence of some sort, whether it was sustained in a car accident, a slip and fall on someone else’s property or any other case when someone else is potentially liable, it’s important to figure out the true cost of your personal injury.

The monetary value attached to a personal injury claim is based on “damages” which includes monetary costs of medical treatment, mental distress and several others. Here’s a list of damages that are common in many personal injury cases:

Medical treatment. This is almost always included in a personal injury case and includes reimbursement for treatment you’ve received and for the estimated cost of future medical care you’ll need as a result of the injury.
Income. This includes salary and wages that you’ve lost during recovery as well as “loss of earning capacity” which is money you would’ve been able to make in the future had the injury not occurred.
Property loss. Most common in car accidents, if any personal property of yours was damaged as a result of the accident, you’re entitled to the cost of repairs or the fair market value of the property if it is unable to be repaired.
Pain and suffering. This is the kind of damage to which an exact dollar amount cannot be attached. You may be entitled for pain and suffering damages especially if there’s a surgery involved.
Emotional distress. This damage claim is more common as the injury is more severe. You can be compensated for the psychological impact of an accident, including fear, anxiety and sleep loss.
Loss of enjoyment. This means that the accident has caused you to stop enjoying daily activities, such as hobbies and recreational activities.
Loss of consortium. This relates to how your relationships have suffered as a result of your injury– the loss of companionship or the inability to maintain a sexual relationship, for example.

If you’ve been in an injury, you may not be aware of all the damages for which you can be compensated, or how much of a toll an accident can take on your life. That’s why it’s important to speak to a personal injury attorney who has experience with liability claims. If you’ve been injured, give us a call today for a free consultation.