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Types of damages you can claim

After an injury, “damages” is the legal word for what you may be compensated for. This is a plain-English map of the main categories. Tap any item to see real-life examples and the records that usually back it up.

Economic damages

Out-of-pocket

The countable money losses — things you can usually total up with bills, receipts, and pay records. These are often the easiest to prove because they have a paper trail.

Non-economic damages

Human cost

The harm that is real but has no receipt — how the injury affected your body, your mind, and your daily life. Harder to put a number on, and some states cap these for certain claims.

Punitive damages

Rare

Not about your losses at all — these are meant to punish especially reckless or intentional conduct and deter it. They are uncommon, have a high legal bar, and many states limit or bar them.

A few things this reference can’t do. It can’t tell you which categories apply to your case, or what any of them are worth — that turns on your specific facts, the law in your state, available insurance limits, and how fault is shared. Some states reduce or eliminate recovery if you were partly at fault, and some cap non-economic or punitive damages. A licensed attorney is the only one who can weigh all of that.

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More free tools: Settlement Calculator · Case Value Estimator · Claim Readiness Checklist · Injury Glossary · First 48 Hours · Treatment & Expense Log · Do I Have a Case?