Getting adequate compensation is an important part of your recovery from your Oklahoma personal injury. When a negligent or reckless third party injures you, receiving compensation can help you regain normalcy in your life.
Compensation in civil suits is paid out as a reflection of damages. These damages are what victims experience in the aftermath of the incident that injured them. In this guide, we’ll examine the three main categories of damages and look at potential examples of each.
If you need any help with understanding damages or what you could be owed in compensation, contact our Oklahoma City injury lawyers at (405) 397-1717.
Understanding Damages In Oklahoma
In civil courts around the country, if you are the victim of a personal injury, you have the potential to recover damages. Like all states in the U.S., in Oklahoma there are three main types of damages: economic, non-economic, and punitive.
Economic Damages
All successfully concluded civil suits will award some kind of economic damages to the plaintiff. Economic damages (sometimes called compensatory damages) are the real-world financial costs associated with your incident. A good rule of thumb is that economic damages have a clear itemized price that can be tabulated.
Examples of economic damages include:
- Property Repairs
- Medical Bills
- Rehabilitation Costs
- At-Home Care Costs
- Lost Wages
- Lost Future Earning Potential
- Funeral or Burial Expenses
Non-Economic Damages
Non-economic damages (sometimes called non-compensatory damages) are the intangible costs of your situation. As the name implies, non-economic damages do not have a clear dollar amount associated with them.
Here are some examples of non-economic damages
- Pain and Suffering
- Emotional Distress
- Anxiety
- Depression
- Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
- Loss of Companionship
- Loss of Consortium
Previously, in Oklahoma, there was a cap on non-economic damages, set at $350,000. This was struck down by the Oklahoma Supreme Court in 2019 so now victims can collect as much as they need to survive.
Punitive Damages
Punitive damages are damages that are not tied to the pain and suffering of the victims. Essentially, punitive damages seek to punish the negligent or reckless third party for exceptionally egregious actions, with the goal of discouraging others from acting in a similar fashion.
In Oklahoma, the only cap on damages is for punitive damages. As dictated by 23 OK Stat § 9.1 (2023), “Where the jury finds by clear and convincing evidence that: 1. The defendant has been guilty of reckless disregard for the rights of others; or 2. An insurer has recklessly disregarded its duty to deal fairly and act in good faith with its insured; the jury, in a separate proceeding conducted after the jury has made such finding and awarded actual damages, may award punitive damages in an amount not to exceed the greater of:
a.One Hundred Thousand Dollars ($100,000.00), or
- The amount of the actual damages awarded.”
That means that there is a cap on damages set at either $100,000 or no greater than the total of economic and non-economic damages.
Warhawk Legal Will Fight For Your Compensation
If you have been injured due to someone’s negligence, contact us at Warhawk Legal so our Oklahoma City accident lawyers can fight to get the compensation you are owed. Book your free, no-obligation case review by calling (405) 397-1717 or scheduling your appointment online.