A Look at General Damages with Different Injuries...

The type of injury you have will effect the general damages. For the special damages this becomes obvious - different kinds of personal injuries require different types of treatments. The greater the injury, the more expensive the treatment, and therefore the higher the damages.

More serious injuries usually require more time off work, so the damages increase in that way as well. When it comes to other general compensatory damages, the type of injury is just as important.

Injuries such as sprains and bruising aren’t considered severe. They can be grouped into a category with scrapes and scratches. In these situations your compensation will be for the medical bills, but not much more.

Naturally, you’d like to receive general damages that make up for your pain and suffering. But here those damages won’t be worth as much. Unfortunately these sprains can be more than just twisted ankles and wrists. They also include injuries to the neck and back. When your neck or back suffers from what is known as a 'soft' injury the pain can be severe, but the injury doesn't qualify for as much in compensatory damages.

Hard injuries are where the insurance companies start to see red. This involves broken bones. If the break happened at a critical spot, such as a joint, then the value goes up. This is because these injuries are more obvious, are known to last longer, and the pain is quite visible. It's also more possible for these injuries to haunt you later in the form of joint pain and arthritis.

Also categorized as hard injuries are head injuries. They can really raise general damages, because even the slightest head injury can result in severe long term disability. Head injuries are unpredictable, with the extent of the damages not being evident for years. If you have any type of head injury your punitive claim will increase.

These are the kinds of injuries that near four and five points on the five point scale. When the head injuries are obviously severe, you can go beyond five and multiply your special damages by even higher amounts.

Flesh wounds will increase your claim as well, though not as much. This is the type of injury where the skin is cut or torn. When those kinds of wounds are severe enough to require treatment, the adjuster will add a little to the punitive damages. Mostly this is to ward off the dramatic effect of a picture of a flesh wound in court. If, however, the wound leaves a visible and permanent scar, then the pain and suffering is considered more long term and severe.

Personal injuries can also result in disease. In these cases you'll definitely need to consult a lawyer - they're very complex. Nonetheless, they increase your general damages by a far greater amount than other injuries. This includes situations like asbestos poisoning, and health calamaties resulting from contaminated drinking water.

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