The two basic categories of damages awarded in personal injury claims are compensatory and punitive. General pain and suffering damages refer to damages that are not monetary in nature. For example, damages from pain and suffering, loss of consortium, and emotional trauma are examples of general damages. There are no tangible bills or receipts that indicate a specific dollar amount for pain and suffering or emotional harm, but nonetheless, they are still losses for which an injured person deserves compensation.
Physical pain and suffering is the pain of the plaintiff's actual physical injuries. It includes not only the pain and discomfort that the plaintiff has endured to date, but also the detrimental effects that he is likely to suffer in the future as a result of the defendant's negligence. The two main types of damage are general and special damages, also known as non-economic and economic damages. These are prizes that are tangible and easy to calculate because they are based on the actual expenses that the victim has incurred due to an injury caused by an incident, including but not limited to car and truck accidents.
Mental pain and suffering are basically any type of negative emotion that an accident victim suffers as a result of having to endure the physical pain and trauma of the accident.
