A slip and fall can leave you nursing some serious injuries, from broken bones to concussions. As a victim, you are probably wondering how much compensation your claim is worth — and that’s fair. You’ve undergone some serious injuries.
It all depends on the extent of your injuries and the type of damages for which you seek compensation. Here are some things that go into the calculations.
The types of damages you suffered
The two main types of damages that will primarily affect the value of your claim are economic and non-economic damages. They are meant to make you whole again and restore you to the position you would have been in had the slip and fall not occurred. Economic damages are the countable losses you suffered, such as the cost of treatment and aftercare or your lost current and future wages.
On the other hand, non-economic damages are less-easily quantified losses, such as pain and suffering and emotional distress. While they may seem hard to quantify, a monetary figure is arrived at based on a formula that factors in several aspects of your injury.
Do damage caps apply in North Carolina personal injury claims?
General damages are not capped in North Carolina. It means that you can recover the actual cost of your injuries as long as you prove them. However, punitive damages, usually meant to punish the offender and deter future injuries, are capped at three times the remaining damages combined or $250,000, whichever is higher. (Punitive damages are rarely awarded and only for egregious situations.)
Depending on the circumstances of your case, it is in your best interests to maximize the payout since some slip-and-fall injuries may have long-term implications which may not be so apparent at the moment.
