What are the different types of damages that I can recover?

In a personal injury claim, the two most common forms of damages that you will be able to recover are called compensatory and punitive damages. Naturally, the type of damages that you can receive will depend entirely on the situation and the type of accident that you were injured in. Compensatory or actual damages are, as the name indicates, a payment made to compensate for the loss or damage that was suffered. If, for example, you were injured in a car accident and had to pay for a hospital stay and physical therapy as a result, you can be compensated for those payments. Punitive damages, on the other hand, are made in response to willful and wanton act. It is a punishment or deterrence to try to keep the individual or others from repeating the act. This payment will be made in addition to the compensatory damages. These types of damages are much more difficult to determine and can include fraud, malice, bad faith, recklessness, and wanton violence. This is a controversial topic in tort law and is often hard to nail down. In most cases, it will be difficult to receive punitive damages on top of actual damages as the attitude behind a particular action can be hard to prove. However, if you intend to seek such recompense, it is best to do so with the aid of an attorney who has experience with a wide range of personal injury suits.