The purpose of a personal injury claim is to restore your financial stability. This is done by recovering damages, which is a legal term for the money paid to compensate for your losses.

Economic Damages: The Tangible Costs

These are the straightforward, calculable expenses that resulted from your injury. Think of them as the bills you can stack up on your kitchen table. They include:

• Medical Bills: Every cost related to your treatment is covered, from the ambulance ride and emergency room visit to future surgeries, physical therapy, and prescriptions.
• Lost Wages: This is the income you lost because you were physically unable to work while recovering.
• Loss of Earning Capacity: If your injuries permanently affect your ability to do your previous job or earn a living, you may be compensated for that future loss.
• Property Damage: This includes the cost to repair or replace your car or any other personal property that was damaged.

Non-Economic Damages: The Human Cost

Non-economic damages compensate you for losses that don’t come with a receipt. They are harder to calculate but just as real. They may include:

• Pain and Suffering: Compensation for the physical pain and mental distress you’ve been forced to endure.
• Loss of Enjoyment of Life: This accounts for the hobbies, activities, and experiences you can no longer participate in because of your injuries.
• Scarring or Disfigurement: Payment for permanent physical changes that alter your appearance.

What About Punitive Damages?

Punitive damages are designed to punish the person who caused the harm, not to compensate the victim. It is important to know that Louisiana law is very restrictive about these damages. They are typically not awarded in personal injury cases unless a specific law allows for them. 

The most common exception involves injuries caused by an intoxicated driver. A local Louisiana lawyer can figure out if the narrow circumstances for punitive damages might apply to your case.

What if You Were Partially at Fault?

Louisiana uses a legal rule known as pure comparative fault, which is detailed in Civil Code Article 2323. This concept means you can still recover money even if you were partly to blame for what happened.

Here’s how it works: Your total compensation award is reduced by your percentage of fault. For example, if a jury decides you were 20% at fault for a wreck, your recovery would decrease by 20%. Under this system, you could even be found 99% at fault and still recover 1% of your damages.