This glossary entry provides general legal information for educational purposes only. It is not legal advice and does not create an attorney-client relationship. Legal terms are applied differently depending on the facts of each case and the jurisdiction. Consult a licensed California attorney for guidance specific to your situation.
Non-economic damages are subjective, non-monetary losses including physical pain, mental suffering, emotional distress, loss of enjoyment of life, loss of consortium, inconvenience, grief, anxiety, and humiliation. Cal. Civ. Code § 1431.1(c). Under Proposition 51, each defendant is severally liable for non-economic damages only in proportion to their own percentage of fault.
Compensation for intangible harms — pain, suffering, emotional distress, and loss of enjoyment of life — determined by the jury based on the full impact of the injury.
Non-Economic Damages in Personal Injury Cases
Non-economic damages are often the largest component of a California personal injury recovery — particularly in cases involving permanent injury, chronic pain, or significant impact on daily life and relationships.
California law recognizes several categories of non-economic damages. The most common are:
Pain and suffering. Compensation for physical pain endured from the date of injury through the expected future, including recovery pain, chronic pain from permanent injuries, and pain from necessary medical procedures.
Mental and emotional distress. Anxiety, depression, fear, post-traumatic stress disorder, sleep disturbance, and similar psychological impacts of the injury and its aftermath.
Loss of enjoyment of life. The diminished ability to participate in activities, hobbies, sports, family activities, and social life that the plaintiff previously enjoyed.
Loss of consortium. Available to a spouse or registered domestic partner of the injured person for loss of companionship, affection, and sexual relations. This is a separate claim, though it flows from the same injury.
Disfigurement. Compensation for permanent scarring, deformity, or physical changes to appearance caused by the injury or its treatment.
Unlike economic damages, non-economic damages have no fixed formula. Plaintiff's attorneys often use the "per diem" method (assigning a dollar value to each day of suffering) or a multiplier applied to economic damages — though neither is a legal requirement. CACI Instruction 3905A guides juries to "use their judgment" based on all the evidence.
'Noneconomic damages' means subjective, nonmonetary losses including, but not limited to, pain, suffering, inconvenience, mental suffering, emotional distress, loss of society and companionship, loss of consortium, injury to reputation and humiliation.
How Non-Economic Damages Works in Practice
Because non-economic damages have no receipt or paystub, attorneys build the case through narrative evidence: testimony from the plaintiff, family members, coworkers, and treating physicians about how the injury has affected daily life. "Day in the life" videos show the jury what the plaintiff's routine looks like after a serious injury.
Defense attorneys challenge non-economic damages by arguing the injury is exaggerated, that the plaintiff has returned to normal activities, or that pre-existing conditions — not the accident — explain the claimed suffering. Social media posts showing the plaintiff at family events or sporting activities are frequently introduced to contradict claims of severe limitation.
There is no statutory cap on non-economic damages in general California personal injury cases. The Legislature capped non-economic damages in medical malpractice cases under MICRA at $250,000 — a cap that was increased by AB 35 beginning in 2023, with annual increases through 2033.
Proposition 51 (Civ. Code § 1431.2) limits each defendant's liability for non-economic damages to their own percentage of fault. So in a case with two defendants who are 60% and 40% at fault respectively, each pays only their share of the non-economic award — not the full amount.
State-by-State Variations
Most states allow non-economic damages without a cap in general personal injury cases. Variation comes primarily from two sources: statutory caps and the collateral source rule.
Approximately 30 states have enacted caps on non-economic damages — most commonly in medical malpractice cases following California's MICRA model. A smaller number cap non-economic damages in all personal injury cases. These caps are controversial and have been struck down as unconstitutional in some states (Florida, Illinois, Wisconsin).
Texas caps non-economic damages at $250,000 per defendant health care provider and $500,000 total in medical malpractice cases. Florida enacted a cap that was later struck down by the Florida Supreme Court. California's MICRA cap applies only to medical malpractice.
Some states require expert testimony to establish non-economic damages; California allows lay testimony from the plaintiff and family members about pain and impact on daily life.
Related Legal Terms
Economic Damages
The counterpart to non-economic damages — the financially measurable losses from an injury.
Pain and Suffering
The most common component of non-economic damages in personal injury cases.
Loss of Consortium
A non-economic damages claim available to the spouse of an injured person.