When you’re injured in an accident, one of the first things people want to know is what they can actually recover. California law breaks damages into two categories: economic and non-economic. Understanding the difference matters because it affects how we value your case and what we’re fighting for.
What Economic Damages Are
Think of economic damages as anything you can attach a number to. Medical bills. Lost paychecks. The estimate to fix your car. These are tangible losses with paper trails. We’re talking about:
- Your medical bills and hospital expenses
- Future treatment costs if you need ongoing care
- Wages you’ve already lost
- Future earning capacity if you can’t go back to your old job
- Property damage
- Any out-of-pocket costs tied to your injury
Your Inglewood personal injury lawyer will collect every piece of documentation that proves these losses. Pay stubs, medical invoices, and repair estimates. Everything. Because insurance companies won’t pay for what we can’t prove.
Understanding Non-Economic Damages
This is where it gets trickier. Non-economic damages cover the losses that don’t come with receipts. Your pain. The anxiety you feel when getting back in a car. Not being able to pick up your kid because your back’s wrecked. These things are real, but you can’t hand someone a bill for them. California recognizes several types:
- Pain and suffering
- Emotional distress
- Loss of enjoyment of life
- Disfigurement and scarring
- Loss of companionship
A broken leg might heal in six months. But what about the fear that sticks around? The activities you can’t do anymore? That deserves compensation too, even though it’s harder to quantify.
How Courts Calculate Non-Economic Damages
There’s no calculator for this. Courts look at severity first. How bad was the injury? Is it permanent? A sprained ankle that heals completely gets valued differently than a traumatic brain injury that changes everything about your life. Duration matters too. So does how much your daily routine’s been disrupted. Your age and circumstances play a role as well. A 30-year-old who can’t play sports with their kids anymore faces different losses than someone who’s 70. The more your injury affects what you used to do, the higher these damages typically go.
California’s Approach To Damage Caps
Most personal injury cases in California don’t have caps. You can recover everything you’ve lost, both economic and non-economic. Medical malpractice is the exception. California Civil Code Section 3333.2 puts a $250,000 limit on non-economic damages in those cases. That cap’s been in place since 1975, and it hasn’t budged despite inflation or anything else. A lot of people think it’s unfair, and frankly, I’d agree with them.
Why Both Types Of Damages Matter
Insurance adjusters love economic damages because they’re concrete. They can add up the bills, see exactly what you’re claiming, and either pay it or dispute specific line items. When it comes to non-economic damages, they’ll argue you’re not in as much pain as you say. That you’ve recovered more than you’re letting on. That your life hasn’t really changed that much. Having an experienced Inglewood personal injury lawyer means we can counter that narrative. We bring in testimony from people who’ve seen your struggles firsthand. Friends, family, doctors. We paint the full picture of what this injury’s actually done to your life, not the sanitized version the insurance company wants to believe.
Getting The Compensation You Deserve
When we evaluate your case, we’re looking at both sides of this equation. The bills and lost wages are straightforward enough. But we also need to account for everything else you’ve lost. The accident didn’t just cost you money, it changed how you live.
At Weinberg Law Offices, we don’t just add up medical expenses and call it done. We tell your complete story. What you’ve been through, what you’re still dealing with, and what you’ve had to give up because of someone else’s negligence. You deserve compensation for all of it, not just the stuff that comes with a receipt. Contact us today.
Disclaimer: This content should not be construed as legal advice.
