The majority of damages awarded to people who have suffered personal injury are compensatory, meaning they restore the prior monetary standing of the plaintiff. The process of awarding damages requires placing a dollar amount on all consequences of the accident, from medical bills to distress, pain, and suffering. Courts also award damages for loss of enjoyment or inability to participate in prior hobbies because of new physical limitations.

1. By Joe Tacopina

2. The majority of damages awarded to people
who have suffered personal injury are
compensatory, meaning they restore the prior
monetary standing of the plaintiff. The
process of awarding damages requires
placing a dollar amount on all consequences
of the accident, from medical bills to distress,
pain, and suffering. Courts also award
damages for loss of enjoyment or inability to
participate in prior hobbies because of new
physical limitations.

3. The most quantifiable damages remain
medical treatment, loss of property, and lost
wages, the latter of which may include
potential future income lost because of a
change in the plaintiff’s “earning capacity.”
The less quantifiable compensatory damages
include pain and suffering, emotional distress,
loss of enjoyment, and loss of consortium.
This last term refers to any impact on the
plaintiff’s relationship with a spouse.

4. In addition to compensatory damages, a
court may demand punitive damages in
cases of particular carelessness. These
damages intend to punish the defendant
rather than restore the plaintiff.

5. After earning his juris doctor in 1991, Joe
Tacopina worked in the district attorney’s
office in Kings County, New York, for three
years before founding his own firm,
Tacopina Seigel & Turano, PC. It focuses
on civil and securities litigation, as well as
criminal law defense.