Types of Damages in Mississippi Personal Injury Claims
Strong advocacy when accidents cause serious injuries
An accident can change your life in an instant. A speeding driver, a property owner who fails to make proper repairs, a doctor who fails to provide competent care, or a manufacturer whose defective products cause harm – all deserve to be held accountable for the personal injuries they cause. At Merkel & Cocke, P.A., we have more than 200 years of collective experience fighting for personal injury victims.
Our Mississippi personal injury lawyers handle all types of catastrophic, permanent, chronic, and serious injuries. Our team works with your doctors and our network of doctors to fully evaluate your medical needs and the impact your injuries will have on your daily life. We work with other experts to place a value on your lost income and other financial damages.
Our team works with you to show every way your life is different and harder than it was before your injuries began. Call us now to seek all the compensation you deserve for all types of injury damages.
We also seek wrongful death damages if an accident is fatal.
What are damages in a Mississippi injury case?
Damages are the compensation that personal injury victims deserve when individuals, businesses, and others breach their duty to protect you from harm. Our Mississippi personal injury attorneys seek compensation to place you in as near a position as possible to the way your life was – physically, emotionally, and financially – to your life before the accident or negligence occurred.
At Merkel & Cocke, P.A., we seek compensation for all of the following damages, which include your damages so far and all the damages you will likely have in the future (including damages for your lifetime):
Economic damages
Economic damages are damages that have a fixed, certain value. These damages include:
Medical bills (past & future)
Our Mississippi personal injury lawyers work with your doctors (and our network of doctors if necessary) to verify all your medical costs. These costs include:
- Emergency transportation to a hospital or burn center
- Emergency room (ER) care
- Hospitalizations
- Doctor visits, including specialists
- Rehabilitation care (physical, occupational, vocational, and other types of therapy)
- Psychological counseling
- Assistive devices and technology
- Medications
Certain litigation-related expenses, such as expert witness fees, may be recoverable only where permitted by Mississippi law or court order. We may also work with life planners who can assess your medical and related needs if you need long-term care.
In medical malpractice cases, your medical bills may include the cost of independent medical reviews, corrective surgeries and treatments, and related medical expenses.
Lost income
We seek payment for all the wages, salary, benefits, and business income you lose due to your injuries. We obtain statements from your employers and financial experts (such as accountants) to verify your lost wages.
Loss of earning capacity
Our lawyers also work with your employers and financial experts to place a value on lost income if you will not be able to return to your job for a substantial length of time – or if you will never be able to work (in a full or part-time capacity) for the rest of your life.
Property damage
At Merkel & Cocke, P.A., we seek compensation for the cost to repair or replace your vehicle (depending on the amount of damage) if you were in a car, truck, or motorcycle accident. We also seek payment for any other property damage, such as clothing and technology damage, that you may have due to your accident.
Non-economic damages
Non-economic damages are those that cannot be easily quantified/reduced to a figure. Non-economic damages tend to be more personal and more subjective than economic damages. We seek compensation for the following non-economic damages:
Physical pain and suffering
If you (or a child) have a traumatic brain injury, spinal cord damage, burns, broken bones, a health condition that is no longer treatable due to medical malpractice, or any serious personal injury, you have the right to seek compensation for all your physical pain and suffering, including:
Every moment you feel discomfort, cry, itch, or can’t move a body part like you used to before the accident or negligence that caused your injuries to begin.
Emotional distress
Emotional distress damages are recoverable when supported by medical evidence and tied to a compensable injury under Mississippi law. Emotional distress includes every moment you feel anxious, depressed, have post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), or just hurt or feel upset, due to your injuries. You have the right to seek psychological help for your emotional distress.
Loss of enjoyment of life
We seek payment for the changes in your ability to enjoy your life due to an accident, medical malpractice, or other types of negligence. Examples include the inability to play with your child, enjoy sports, engage in social activities, and live a healthy and happy future.
Disfigurement and disability
Our Mississippi personal injury lawyers seek additional compensation if you have a traumatic amputation (loss of limb), third-degree burns, an inability to use a body part, or any type of scarring, disfigurement, or disability. The compensation we seek includes psychological counseling, the funds to manage complications that may arise, and other related expenses and trauma.
Loss of consortium
We seek compensation for spouses when an accident affects the ability of a spouse to enjoy the comfort, companionship, and intimacy of the injured spouse.
Punitive damages
Section 11-1-65 of the Mississippi Code authorizes punitive damages if you can show that the defendant acted with:
- Actual malice
- Gross negligence which evidences a willful, wanton, or reckless disregard for the safety of others, or
- Committed actual fraud.
The trier of fact (normally, the jury) decides punitive damages only after compensatory damages are determined. The trial court will review whether the punitive damage award is reasonable and rational, considering the financial condition and net worth of the defendant and other factors.
Generally, a seller of defective products is only liable for punitive damages under specific conditions.
Mississippi law limits (caps) the amount of punitive damages depending on the responsible defendant’s net worth. For example, defendants with a net worth between $100 million and $500 million are subject to a $3.75 million punitive damages cap, with higher or lower caps applying to defendants depending on their net worth, subject to statutory exceptions (MS Code § 11-1-65 (2024)).
Statutory exceptions may include felony convictions or intoxication, subject to court findings.
How damages are calculated
At Merkel & Cocke, P.A., we verify your economic damages in the following ways:
- Written bills and estimates from your healthcare providers, employers, accountants, life planners, car mechanics, appraisers, and others.
- Expert reports and testimony from physicians and other damage experts.
- Explaining and showing to the jury all your economic and non-economic damages (and punitive damages where applicable) – through your testimony, the testimony of family and friends, the testimony of eyewitnesses, and the testimony of liability and damage experts.
How comparative fault affects damages
Mississippi is a pure comparative negligence state. This means that your damage award will be reduced by the percentage of your fault. You can still recover damages even if you are 99 percent at fault, but your recovery will be reduced by 99 percent.
We work to show that you were not at fault for the accident or that you were only minimally at fault.
Do you have a Mississippi personal injury lawyer near me?
Yes. We have offices at the following locations:
Clarksdale Office
- 30 Delta Avenue
Jackson Office
- 2630 Ridgewood Road, Suite D
Greenville Office
- 540 Main Street
- ICON Building, Suite 302
Oxford Office
- 2084 Old Taylor Road, Suite 110
Meridian Office
- 2121 5th Street, Suite 205
We also consult with clients by phone and through online video. If your injuries prevent you from traveling, we can make alternate arrangements to meet with you.
We’re ready to explain your rights and guide you through each step of the claims process.
Contact our experienced personal injury lawyers today
Your bills are mounting. You’re in constant pain. You can’t enjoy your life or your family. At Merkel & Cocke, P.A., we fight to help accident victims maximize their financial recovery so they can maximize their health, ability to work, enjoyment of life, and financial future. Please call us or complete our contact form to schedule a free consultation. We handle personal injury claims on a contingency fee basis.