Losses with a receipt and losses without one
Compensatory damages fall into two broad groups. Economic losses are the ones that can be added up from records, such as medical bills, lost wages and benefits, repair costs, lost business income, and future costs that can be projected. Non-economic losses, such as pain, emotional distress, and loss of enjoyment of life, have no invoice, and juries decide them based on testimony and the medical record. In contract disputes, compensatory damages usually aim to give you the benefit of the bargain, and losses that were not foreseeable when the contract was made are often excluded. Which categories are available depends on the type of claim.
Proving each piece
A loss that cannot be shown is often treated as a loss that did not happen. Keep bills, pay stubs, tax returns, invoices, and correspondence showing what the harm cost you. Future losses, such as continuing care or reduced earning capacity, typically call for testimony from treating doctors, economists, or other retained witnesses. Courts also expect you to take reasonable steps to limit your loss, so the record of what you did afterward matters. In New York injury cases, certain payments from other sources, like health insurance, can reduce the amount recovered after a verdict, which is one reason the source of each payment is tracked.
Building the figure from the documents
We build the damages picture from the records up rather than from a target figure. That means gathering documents, confirming which losses are recoverable for your type of claim, and identifying where retained witnesses will be needed. A demand that cannot be supported tends to slow a matter down rather than speed it up. At the start we review what you have lost so far, what may continue, and what evidence exists for each category. Bring whatever you have, even if it is incomplete; filling in the gaps is part of the work.
