Under Ohio’s personal injury laws, non-economic damages include pain and suffering, emotional distress, loss of quality of life or enjoyment of life, and disfigurement or scarring. These damages cover victims’ non-monetary losses resulting from an accident or injury that cannot be directly linked to financial costs but can have a significant impact on injury victims.
These damages may represent a larger portion of the settlement than economic losses. While they are difficult to measure, they often comprise a significant part of the total compensation recovered. A personal injury attorney at Gervelis Law Firm can help you calculate your non-economic losses to help secure a fair settlement that supports your recovery.
Common Types of Non-Economic Damages in Ohio
Non-economic damages cover a wide range of impacts from an injury or an accident that can drastically change a person’s daily life. Some of these damages victims can be compensated for include:
- Pain and suffering: These damages include compensation for the physical pain and suffering caused by the accident.
- Emotional distress: The psychological impact of an accident, such as developing anxiety, depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, or insomnia, can significantly impact your quality of life.
- Loss of enjoyment of life: Your injuries and accident have significantly impacted your ability to enjoy life or prevented you from completing daily activities.
- Loss of consortium: Your injuries and their negative effects on your relationships can be compensated.
- Disfigurement and scarring: Compensation for the physical toll your injuries have taken, and the emotional toll, such as significant facial scarring after a car accident.
- Loss of reputation: Compensates for the impact your injuries have had on your social life. For example, if your self-worth was closely tied to your job, where you interacted heavily with the public, but your injuries prevented you from returning to work.
How Non-Economic Damages Are Calculated in Ohio
While economic damages are calculated by adding up all the financial expenses and losses caused by your injury or accident, there is no specific formula for determining non-monetary damages. When estimating non-economic damages in a personal injury case, the court considers the severity of the injury, how it affects the victim’s life, and the victim’s ability to maintain relationships.
When non-monetary damages are being calculated, other factors that are considered when determining compensation include:
- The injury’s severity and the pain endured
- The expected duration of the injury and its ongoing pain
- The psychological effects of the injury
- The victim’s age and lifestyle before the injury
- The impact the injury has on the victim’s ability to work, engage in activities, or maintain relationships.
For example, if a very physically active 30-year-old is hit by a vehicle while out biking, and has a severe spinal cord injury that limits their mobility for the rest of their life, the victim could be eligible to receive damages for their loss of physical activities they enjoyed before their injury.
Are There Limits on Non-Economic Damages in Ohio?
In most personal injury cases, Ohio caps non-economic damages at the greater of $250,000 or three times your economic damages, up to $350,000 per plaintiff or $500,000 per occurrence, as per Ohio Rev. Code § 2315.18. This means victims with non-catastrophic injuries cannot recover more than this amount, though certain circumstances can lift this limit.
If your injuries or losses include a permanent or substantial physical deformity, loss of the use of a limb or bodily organ system, or if your injuries permanently prevent you from caring for yourself independently, the cap on non-economic damages is lifted entirely. For example, if your injuries are extreme and life-changing, such as losing a leg or becoming partially paralyzed after a car accident, your non-economic damages would not be capped.
How Gervelis Law Firm Helps You Recover Non-Economic Damages
When you’ve suffered a serious injury, your life can change completely, and you deserve compensation for the pain and emotional distress you’ve experienced. Our experienced attorneys at Gervelis Law Firm will support you, help calculate everything you’ve lost because of your injury, and ensure you receive what you’re owed. Our clients are our top priority, and we will do everything we can to advocate for you and support your case. We will fight for the results you deserve so you can move forward.
Gervelis Law Firm is proud to serve clients across six locations in Ohio, providing experienced legal guidance on the state’s laws. We’re here to support you, working on a contingency fee basis so you won’t pay any legal fees unless we successfully win your case. If you think you deserve compensation for non-economic losses following an injury or accident, contact Gervelis Law Firm today or call us at (866) 792-2728 to set up your free consultation.