Getting You the Compensation You Deserve after an Injury

The term "damages" refers to the monetary compensation that an injured party collects after reaching a settlement or winning a personal injury lawsuit. A judge or jury will award damages to an injured victim who demonstrates financial, physical, and/or emotional losses and expenses related to their injury. Colorado attorney J. Todd Tenge will help you obtain the maximum compensation for your personal injury claim. He can speak with you about the types of personal injury damages at his Boulder or Fort Collins offices, also serving Denver, and help you determine the amount of compensation you should receive after an injury. Please contact our Boulder and Fort Collins personal injury law firm today to schedule a free consultation.

Compensatory Damages

Compensatory damages are awarded for demonstrable losses and expenses incurred as a result of the accident and your injuries. As the defendant is liable to the plaintiff for the direct consequences of his or her wrongful act, compensatory damages reimburse the plaintiff for any losses which are due to the defendant's conduct. There are two types of compensatory damages: economic and non-economic.

Economic Damages

Economic damages are out-of-pocket financial losses incurred due to an accident. The most common are medical-related expenses and lost wages. These are expenses which are usually tangible for which tangible and quantifiable, including:

• Past and future hospital, rehabilitation, or other medical bills
• Past, present, and future lost earnings
• Funeral costs (in wrongful death cases)
• Essential services (home and yard care)

Non-economic Damages

Non-economic damages are intended to compensate victims for intangible, non-monetary losses related to an injury - such as physical and emotional distress, pain and suffering, grief, anxiety, frustration, and loss of enjoyment of life. In a wrongful death case, non-economic losses would include the loss of support and/or consortium suffered by the surviving relative. Non-economic losses are more abstract than economic losses. These losses are intangible and are hard to quantify. What is pain and suffering worth anyway? It is necessary to have a skilled and experienced attorney on your side to demonstrate the need for compensation in an amount which is fair and just.

Determining Compensatory Damages after a Permanent Injury

It's important to seek legal counsel to properly determine the damages to which you are owed; once you are compensated for an injury, you cannot return to the courts for further compensation related to that injury, even if it's a permanent injury that requires lifelong medical attention and care. J. Todd Tenge, with help from his extensive base of legal resources and expert witnesses, will accurately project both the current and future losses and expenses that permanently injured victims can expect.

If you have a question about the types of personal injury damages to which you may be entitled, contact Boulder attorney J. Todd Tenge.

Punitive Damages

A judge or jury will typically award punitive damages if the defendant acted with fraud, malice, or willful or wanton misconduct. Rather than compensating the victim for his or her injury, punitive damages are intended to punish the defendant for egregiously wrongful behavior and deter future wrongful behavior. This includes purposeful behavior that a reasonable person would deem dangerous, reckless, or without regard for the rights and safety of others.

For example, in a case where a drunk driver willingly got into a vehicle, caused an accident, and killed a pedestrian, the victim's family would be compensated for their actual economic and non-economic losses, and also awarded punitive damages. Some states impose a cap on the amount of punitive damages awarded to a plaintiff. In Colorado, punitive damages may not exceed the amount awarded for compensatory damages.

Contact Us about Personal Injury Damages

If you have been injured due to another person's negligence and wish to file a personal injury claim, you could recover damages to compensate you. Boulder and Fort Collins attorney J. Todd Tenge, serving Denver and surrounding Colorado areas, can help you pursue a fair and just settlement. Contact the Tenge Law Firm today.