After falling victim to a truck accident, the doctor tells you that you’ve experienced a traumatic brain injury. There are some brain injuries that require one surgery or a little bit of rehab to heal. While others involve a lifetime of recurring symptoms. No matter what your condition entails, there is compensation you can seek.
Your head injury may impact your memory, muscle control, vision, balance and mood. So, when the reckless or negligent actions of someone else leaves you with you with chronic pain or a disability, you are more than deserving of a plethora of resources to help you cope.
Here are three types of damages personal injury victims may file to receive in North Carolina:
- Economic damages
Costs associated with your injury that have a specific dollar amount attached to them are known as economic damages. This might include medical bills that have already stacked up. It might also include money to cover future medical bills, prescriptions or at-home equipment you may need. Depending on the severity of your injury, you’ll likely need money to pay for physical therapy, a wheelchair or a caregiver. You may also be eligible to receive damages to cover days of work you already missed and days of work you may miss out on later.
- Non-economic damages
There are costs associated with injuries that don’t always have a direct dollar amount attached to them. One main category of non-economic damages includes the physical and mental pain and suffering one experiences. This can range from injury-related depression to chronic headaches that make daily life or responsibilities difficult. It could also include living with the fact that your injury no longer allows you to be as social with friends or present for your children as you were before the accident that caused it. It’s worth noting that there is no cap on pain and suffering damages in North Carolina.
- Punitive damages
Another set of damages you can receive are those that the party at-fault pays for as a penalty for their negligence in the incident. In North Carolina, the highest amount of punitive damages you can receive is either $250,000 or three times the total amount of economic and non-economic damages you receive.
Since each case is a unique, a personal injury attorney can help you fight for the compensation you deserve and need both today and for years to come.