Stephen Schultz | December 1, 2025 | Personal Injury
When you’re hurt in an accident, your personal injury claim includes more than just medical bills. You’re entitled to seek compensation for a wide range of losses. These losses fall into two main categories: special damages and general damages. Knowing the difference is crucial to understanding the potential value of your case.
This blog post will explain the concepts of special damages and general damages, including how each is calculated and why they are important in Missouri personal injury cases.
What Are Special Damages?
Special damages, also called economic damages, are the financial losses you can prove with bills, receipts, or wage records. They’re tied to specific dollar amounts and are usually easier to calculate than other types of damages.
Common examples of special damages in a personal injury case may include:
- Medical expenses: ER visits, surgeries, doctor appointments, physical therapy, medication, and future treatment
- Lost income: Missed work, reduced hours, or job loss due to the injury
- Property damage: Vehicle repair or replacement after a crash
- Out-of-pocket costs: Travel to appointments, in-home care, medical equipment, or modifications to your home
- Loss of earning capacity: If your injury limits your ability to work in the future
The key feature of special damages is that they can be backed up with documentation. If you save every bill and keep a clear record of how your injury affected your finances, these losses become strong parts of your claim.
What Are General Damages?
General damages are also known as non-economic damages. These reflect the intangible, personal ways your injury has affected your life. Unlike special damages, general damages are subjective and harder to measure because they don’t have a clear price tag.
Examples of general damages in a personal injury case can include:
- Physical pain: Ongoing discomfort, soreness, or chronic pain from the injury
- Emotional distress: Anxiety, depression, sleep problems, or PTSD
- Loss of enjoyment of life: Not being able to do activities you once loved
- Disfigurement or scarring: Changes to your appearance that affect your self-esteem
- Loss of companionship: Strained relationships due to the physical or emotional toll of your injury
These damages aren’t supported by receipts or other clear documentation, but they are no less important. They speak to the human side of your injury, such as the pain and disruption that may not show up on a medical chart or in your bank statements.
How Are General Damages Calculated?
Since general damages aren’t based on losses with a clear price tag, insurance companies and courts use other methods to estimate them.
Two common formulas include:
- Multiplier method: Multiply your special damages by a number based on the severity of your injury (usually between 1.5 and 5).
- Per diem method: Assign a daily dollar value to your suffering and multiply it by the number of days you’ve experienced pain.
These methods are only starting points. In Missouri, juries and insurers may also consider other factors—such as the long-term effects of your injury, your age, and your overall life impact—when evaluating general damages.
What Types of Evidence Do I Need to Prove the Value of My Damages?
Whether you are seeking special damages or general damages, a successful personal injury claim requires compelling evidence to prove the full extent of your losses. The burden is on the injured party to demonstrate, through documentation and testimony, why they are entitled to the compensation requested. Evidence is categorized based on the type of damage.
Evidence used to prove the value of your special damages might include:
- Medical and hospital bills, invoices from specialists, and pharmacy receipts
- Pay stubs, W-2s, or tax returns to document lost wages and loss of future earning capacity
- Estimates or receipts for vehicle repair or replacement
- Invoices for other out-of-pocket costs, such as travel to appointments, in-home care services, or durable medical equipment
General damages are harder to quantify, but your lawyer can help you prove their value by showing evidence that may include:
- Detailed medical records, including physician notes and diagnoses, that describe the severity of pain and prognosis
- Testimony from mental health professionals (psychologists, therapists) documenting emotional distress, anxiety, or PTSD
- A personal journal or diary detailing daily pain levels, inability to perform routine tasks, and limitations on activities
- Testimony from family, friends, or coworkers describing changes in your personality, mood, or ability to enjoy life
- Photographs or videos that document visible injuries, scarring, or the difficulty you face in completing simple tasks
A comprehensive claim integrates both types of evidence to present a complete and undeniable picture of the physical, emotional, and financial toll the injury has taken.
How Special and General Damages Work Together in a Personal Injury Case
Most personal injury claims include both types of damages. For example, say you’re hit by a distracted driver and suffer a broken leg.
Your special damages may include medical bills, lost wages, physical therapy, and property damage, which could be worth tens of thousands of dollars. If your injury caused significant pain, kept you from caring for your kids, or led to depression, your general damages might push the total claim value much higher.
A strong claim thoroughly documents both types of losses and explains how the injury has impacted your daily life.
Why the Difference Matters in Missouri Personal Injury Claims
After you’ve been injured in an accident due to someone else’s negligence, you deserve to be fairly compensated for all of your economic and non-economic losses.
Knowing the difference between special and general damages helps you:
- Provide clear evidence for every type of loss
- Push back on lowball settlement offers that ignore general damages
- Build a full picture of your injury’s impact
- Get fair compensation under Missouri’s fault rules
Understanding how damages are categorized can give injured parties the confidence to fight for a settlement that truly allows them to recover.
Contact Our St. Louis Personal Injury Lawyers at Schultz & Myers Personal Injury Lawyers for a Free Consultation
Knowing the difference between general and special damages is key to getting fair compensation after an injury. An experienced St. Louis personal injury attorney can help you build a full claim and fight for every dollar you’re owed. Call Schultz & Myers Personal Injury Lawyers to schedule a free consultation about your case.
Personal injury accidents can change your life in an instant. If you’ve suffered a personal injury, call Schultz & Myers Personal Injury Lawyers now to schedule a free consultation with a St. Louis Personal Injury attorney. We’ll review your case for free and help you take the next steps toward justice and recovery.
Contact the attorneys at Schultz & Myers Personal Injury Lawyers at the nearest location to schedule a free consultation, we proudly serve all throughout Missouri, including St. Louis County and Boone County and we have offices in St. Louis, Ladue, Columbia, Creve Coeur.
Schultz & Myers Personal Injury Lawyers – St. Louis Office
319 N 4th Street, Suite 835, St. Louis, MO 63102
(314) 444-4444
Schultz & Myers Personal Injury Lawyers – Columbia Office
28 N 8th St # 502, Columbia, MO 65201
(573) 702-3285
Schultz & Myers Personal Injury Lawyers – Ladue Office
9807 S 40 Dr, St. Louis, MO 63124
(314) 912-3302
Schultz & Myers Personal Injury Lawyers – Creve Coeur Office
999 Executive Pkwy Dr #205, Creve Coeur, MO 63141
(314) 350-4021
