Arizona · Personal injury · Trial-ready representation
Economic, non-economic, and punitive damages explained — what each one covers, how they're proven, and what limits Arizona law puts on them.
When people ask “what’s my case worth?” they’re really asking about damages — the categories of harm Arizona law allows you to recover for. Understanding the categories matters because each one is proven differently, defended against differently, and weighted differently by insurers and juries.
The short version
Economic damages compensate you for measurable financial losses. They include both what you’ve already lost and what you’ll lose in the future:
Past medical expenses
ER bills, hospital stays, imaging, surgery, prescriptions, physical therapy, durable medical equipment, every copay and out-of-pocket cost.
Future medical expenses
Care you'll need going forward — additional surgeries, ongoing therapy, future imaging, long-term medications, life-care planning for catastrophic injuries.
Past lost wages
Income you missed because you couldn't work — including paid time off you had to use, missed bonuses, and lost overtime.
Lost earning capacity
If the injury limits what you can earn going forward, the difference between what you would have earned and what you can now earn — sometimes the largest single category in a serious case.
Out-of-pocket costs
Mileage to medical appointments, parking, home modifications, hired help for tasks you can no longer do, replacement childcare.
Property damage
Vehicle repair or replacement, contents, personal property destroyed in the crash.
These are proven with bills, records, pay stubs, tax returns, vocational expert reports, and life-care plans for the larger cases. The numbers are specific and documentable.
Non-economic damages compensate for harm that’s real but doesn’t come with a receipt. The fact that they’re not on a bill doesn’t mean they’re not recoverable — Arizona law explicitly allows them, and in many cases they’re the largest part of the recovery.
Pain and suffering
Physical pain — both the acute pain of the injury and ongoing chronic pain.
Emotional distress and mental anguish
Anxiety, depression, PTSD, fear of driving, sleep disruption, all the psychological consequences of being hurt.
Loss of enjoyment of life
The hobbies, sports, travel, social activities, and daily pleasures you can no longer participate in the way you did before.
Disfigurement and scarring
Permanent physical changes — particularly significant in burn, facial-injury, and amputation cases.
Loss of consortium
In some cases, a spouse can recover for the loss of companionship, affection, and partnership when the injured person can no longer provide them.
These are proven through your own testimony, the testimony of family and friends, treating providers, and sometimes mental health professionals. A “day-in-the-life” video, journal entries, and side-by-side comparisons of “before” and “after” daily life can be powerful. There is no magic formula — Arizona juries decide what these losses are worth based on the evidence in front of them.
Punitive damages are different from the first two categories. They aren’t about compensating you — they’re about punishing the at-fault party and deterring similar conduct in the future. Arizona allows punitive damages only when the conduct was particularly bad:
Drunk driving causing serious injury
Especially repeat offenders or those with extreme BAC levels.
Trucking violations involving knowing safety failures
Forced over-hours driving, ignored maintenance, falsified logs.
Product manufacturers concealing known dangers
Suppressed safety data, hidden recalls, internal documents showing the company knew.
Premises owners ignoring repeated warnings
Hazards reported multiple times and intentionally left unaddressed.
Sexual abuse and intentional torts
Conduct that was intentional or grossly reckless from the start.
The Arizona standard requires “clear and convincing” evidence of an “evil mind” — meaning the defendant either intended to cause harm or consciously disregarded a substantial risk. It’s a high bar. Where punitive damages do apply, however, they can substantially exceed the compensatory damages.
Arizona is one of the most plaintiff-friendly states in the country on caps. Article 2, § 31 of the Arizona Constitution provides:
No law shall be enacted in this state limiting the amount of damages to be recovered for causing the death or injury of any person.
That means most efforts to cap damages by statute are unconstitutional in Arizona. There are some narrow exceptions for certain government claims and contractual limitations, but the general rule is: in Arizona, juries decide the number, not the legislature.
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