After an accident, it’s not always clear what comes next and what support is available to you. Between medical bills, time away from work, and the stress of recovery, trying to understand your options for personal injury compensation can feel overwhelming.
In New York, personal injury law allows injured individuals to pursue compensation for not only financial losses, but also the ways an injury impacts daily life. This can include anything from medical expenses to the physical and emotional toll of what you’ve been through.
Understanding what may be included in a personal injury compensation claim and the types of personal injury damages available is an important step toward making informed decisions. If questions come up along the way, speaking with a personal injury lawyer at Harding Mazzotti, LLP can help provide clarity and direction when it matters most.
Economic Damages: Recovering Financial Losses in a Personal Injury Claim
After an accident, it’s not always clear what comes next and what support is available to you. Between medical bills, time away from work, and the stress of recovery, trying to understand your options for personal injury compensation can feel overwhelming.
In New York, personal injury law allows injured individuals to pursue compensation for not only financial losses, but also the ways an injury impacts daily life. This can include anything from medical expenses to the physical and emotional toll of what you’ve been through.
Understanding what may be included in a personal injury compensation claim and the types of personal injury damages available is an important step toward making informed decisions. If questions come up along the way, speaking with a personal injury lawyer at Harding Mazzotti, LLP can help provide clarity and direction when it matters most.
Non-Economic Damages: Looking Beyond the Financial Impact
Not all losses after an injury come with a bill. Non-economic damages are meant to account for the personal, day-to-day impact of what you’ve experienced. These personal injury damages may include pain and suffering, emotional distress, loss of enjoyment of life, and the strain an injury can place on families and relationships, often referred to as loss of consortium. Non-economic damages may also reflect lasting impacts of an injury, like scarring, disfigurement, or a permanent disability that alters how you conduct day-to-day life.
Even though these losses aren’t tied to receipts or invoices, they’re still a meaningful part of a personal injury claim. New York does not place a cap on non-economic damages in personal injury cases, meaning compensation isn’t limited to a fixed amount. However, in motor vehicle accident cases, there is an additional requirement. To recover non-economic damages beyond no-fault benefits, the injury must meet the serious injury threshold under New York Insurance Law § 5102 (d).
Punitive Damages: When Do They Apply?
While most personal injury compensation claims focus on economic and non-economic damages, which are designed to help you recover and move forward after an injury, there are unique circumstances in which punitive damages may be applied. Punitive damages are unique from other types of personal injury compensation because they don’t focus on your losses. Instead, they address especially harmful behavior by the at-fault party.
Punitive damages are uncommon, and are only awarded with evidence that the defendant acted with malice, wanton disregard, or recklessness that verges on criminal behavior. Most personal injury compensation claims focus on economic and non-economic damages.
What Affects the Value of a Personal Injury Compensation Claim?
The value of a personal injury compensation claim often starts with how serious the injury is. More severe or permanent injuries tend to result in higher personal injury damages because they may require ongoing care and affect your ability to live and work as you did before. The length of your recovery also matters. Time away from work, limitations on daily activities, and long-term changes to your routine can all influence how compensation is evaluated.
Insurance coverage plays a major role as well. In New York, drivers must carry minimum liability coverage of $25,000 per person, $50,000 per accident, and $10,000 for property damage, along with $50,000 in no-fault (PIP) benefits. Many policies include higher limits or additional coverage, but insurers generally will not pay beyond those limits. If your losses exceed available coverage, options like underinsured motorist coverage or a lawsuit against the at-fault party may be available.
How Fault and Timing Affect Your Personal Injury Claim
Fault and timing can also affect your claim. Under New York’s pure comparative negligence rule, your compensation may be reduced based on your percentage of fault, but you can still recover damages. The New York personal injury statute of limitations also sets a three-year deadline to file a lawsuit, beginning on the date of the accident. However, some cases have shorter deadlines, and missing these can prevent you from recovering compensation.
Get Help Understanding Your Personal Injury Damages
Understanding the full value of a personal injury compensation claim is not always straightforward. Between medical costs, time away from work, and the lasting impact on your daily life, it can be difficult to know what your claim may truly be worth. That’s where having the right team on your side can make a real difference.
The Heavy Hitters® at Harding Mazzotti, LLP are ready to step in with the guidance and strength you need, answering your questions and helping you pursue the personal injury compensation you may be entitled to. With over $1 billion recovered for clients and a commitment to putting people first, we combine the resources of a large firm with the personalized attention you deserve.
If you’ve been injured in an accident, you can reach out for a free, no-obligation consultation by calling 800-529-1010 or contacting us online.
