Personal injury victims may be able to seek non-economic damages. Unlike economic damages which are more objective in nature, non-economic damages include subjective and intangible losses. They are especially relevant to New York victims of serious injury.
If you suffered a personal injury, it’s time to explore your legal options for claiming the compensation you deserve. Get in touch with Carden Dotzler Hammond, PLLC. We can schedule your initial consultation today.
What to Know About Serious Injuries in New York
New York has a no-fault insurance system by which injury victims first seek compensation through their insurers, regardless of who caused the accident. No-fault insurance (also known as personal injury protection, or PIP) covers up to $50,000 in basic economic loss, including:
- Reasonable and necessary medical expenses: This includes hospital visits, surgery, lab tests, prescription medications, physical therapy, and more.
- Lost income: Insurance also covers lost wages if the victim cannot work. A typical policy pays about 80% of lost income, up to $2,000 per week, for up to three years.
- Accident-related expenses: Victims can also receive up to $25 per day for expenses related to the accident, like transportation costs.
However, this insurance generally does not pay for what are known as non-economic losses. Compared to the above economic losses, non-economic losses are intangible harms that victims suffer such as:
- Pain and suffering: This is the pain, including chronic pain, and discomfort that victims experience with a serious injury. It also includes the suffering that victims have during the recovery process.
- Emotional distress: Emotional distress can be thought of as the mental, emotional, and psychological harms that victims endure after an accident. Examples include anxiety, depression, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
- Loss of enjoyment of life: Suffering an accident may render a victim unable to do the things they once enjoyed. You may miss out on hobbies, recreational activities, and other experiences because of your injuries.
- Loss of quality of life: Daily life can be far more difficult in the wake of an accident. A victim may need personal assistance and have severe limitations. Their quality of life may overall decline, so they can seek compensation for this.
- Scarring and disfigurement: Certain injuries leave victims permanently scarred or disfigured. The law recognizes the serious negative consequences this has on a person and therefore allows compensation for this loss.
- Loss of consortium: Being in an accident may harm one’s relationship with others, including their spouse. Loss of consortium covers the corresponding losses of companionship, affection, and marital relations.
When Can You Ask For Non-Economic Damages in New York?
To ask for non-economic damages, a victim has to be able to step outside the no-fault insurance system. This is where “serious injury” comes in. “Serious injury” has a specific legal meaning in New York and includes life-changing losses such as:
- Dismemberment
- Significant disfigurement
- Fracture
- Loss of an unborn child
- Permanent loss or limitation of use of a body organ, member, or function
- Significant limitation to a body system or function
- An injury that prevents usual daily activities for at least 90 of the first 180 days after the crash
All of these are monumental events that can alter a person’s life forever. If you have suffered one of these injuries, you may be able to bring a liability claim or personal injury lawsuit against the at-fault party and ask for non-economic damages.
How Our Law Firm Can Help
If you were injured due to someone’s negligent or intentional misconduct, we can review the facts of your case to determine if you are eligible to step outside of the no-fault system. If so, your case may qualify for non-economic damages.
The lawyers of CDH Law have extensive experience with New York personal injury law. We can handle every aspect of your case from start to finish, seek the full amount of damages to which you are entitled, and negotiate on your behalf with the insurance companies.
Find out how much your case could be worth by reaching out to our office. You can give us a call or complete our online contact form to get started now.