Any injury from accidents or wrongdoings can take a lot from a person and have a significant impact on their physical, mental, and emotional well-being. In such cases, personal injury claims can act as the only ray of hope for the victim to help them recover from the trauma caused.
As you might know, expenses like medical bills, lost wages, and property damage losses can be calculated easily, but these are not the only things adding to the victim’s pain. What about the mental and emotional stress caused by that situation? This is where non-economic losses come into play.
In this article, we will discuss everything you must know to claim these settlements. But also, as these can be complicated to measure and deal with, it is best to talk to a personal injury attorney to navigate through it effectively.
Types and Examples of Non-Economic Losses
Non-economic loss claims can prove to be a ray of hope for the victims to recover from the trauma caused by an unfortunate event and get their lives back on track. But what do they include? To answer this question, here are the types of non-economic losses that you can legally seek compensation for:
Pain and suffering: This refers to the physical pain the victim went through because of the injury. It also includes the emotional and mental suffering that comes from it.
Emotional distress: It is very normal for people to feel anxious, depressed, or even scared, after an accident. These feelings of distress and anxiety count as non-economic losses.
Loss of enjoyment of life: It often happens that an injury prevents the victim from doing things they once enjoyed—like playing sports, going out with friends, or pursuing hobbies—this is something they can claim as part of their non-economic damages.
Loss of consortium: This point is a bit more specific. It refers to the impact an injury has had on a victim’s personal relationships, especially romantic or spousal relationships, where the injured person is unable to provide the same physical, emotional, or personal connection as they once did before the injury.
DO YOU KNOW? In some countries, non-economic damages like pain and suffering are not taxed, unlike economic damages.
How Can You Prove Your Non-Economic Losses?
Documenting everything is essential and one of the wisest things you can do in such cases. That includes keeping a record of how you’re feeling day by day, any mental or emotional struggles that you might be going through, and even changes in your relationships.
You can even keep a journal and write down everything you’re going through physically, emotionally, and psychologically. It is also advisable to get statements from your friends or family who’ve closely observed how the injury has impacted/ changed your life.
If you’re dealing with serious mental health issues like anxiety or depression as an aftereffect of the injury, seeing a therapist or counselor who can provide documentation of the emotional toll the injury has taken on your mental well-being can immensely help you deal with the stress and also strengthen your case.
Also, collecting things like photos and videos showing the difficulty you might be facing while performing basic tasks can come in handy for the case. For example, if you can’t perform routine tasks like walking, getting dressed, or even enjoying activities you once loved, having all this evidence documented can help your case.
DO YOU KNOW? According to findings, there are various challenges faced by organizations in addressing non-economic loss and damage claims related to climate change impacts.
How Do You Claim Non-Economic Losses?
The whole process can be complex to deal with without having the right guidance and knowledge. That is why contacting a competent lawyer is considered the best move to help you through the process of claiming non-economic damages. While it’s not always as simple as handing over a receipt or a bill, there are ways to make your case.
Usually, here is how a professional can help, first, your lawyer will look at the extent of your injuries and gather all the evidence that can support your claim. These include essential documents like medical records, accident reports, witness statements, and more. However, non-economic losses are much more difficult to prove because they cannot be seen in medical records the way a broken leg would.
Also, you can ask for testimonies from people who have seen the changes in your life. They can tell you about how your life was before the accident and what’s different now. Your doctor or therapist can also provide help, explaining how the injury has affected your mental health. Sometimes, lawyers can even bring in experts to help explain, better, the impact an injury can have on someone’s life beyond just physical recovery.
