So you’re wondering what you can actually recover if you bring a civil rights lawsuit. That’s a fair question, and honestly, it’s one of the first things I talk about with clients. The short answer? It depends on what happened to you and which laws were violated.
Economic Damages Cover Your Financial Losses
These are the tangible losses. The money that came out of your pocket or the income you didn’t earn because of what happened. If you lost your job after reporting discrimination, you can recover:
- The wages and benefits you would’ve earned
- Future earnings if your career took a permanent hit
- Medical bills for physical or mental health treatment
- What you spent looking for a new job
- Any other expenses directly caused by the violation
You get fired in retaliation for complaining about harassment. You’re out of work for eight months. Those eight months of lost salary? Recoverable. The health insurance premiums you paid out of pocket? Also recoverable. A Washington D.C. civil rights litigation lawyer will help you document all of this. It adds up, and you need to prove it.
Compensatory Damages Address Non-Economic Harm
Civil rights violations mess with people. They cause real psychological damage. You might have trouble sleeping. Your relationships suffer. You lose confidence in yourself professionally. That’s what compensatory damages are for. Emotional distress. Mental anguish. Loss of enjoyment of life. Damage to your professional reputation, and no, you don’t need a psychiatrist to tell a jury that being discriminated against hurt you emotionally. It helps to have that documentation, sure. But courts recognize that this stuff takes a toll, whether you sought treatment or not.
Punitive Damages Punish Egregious Conduct
Sometimes what happened to you was so outrageous that just making you whole isn’t enough. Punitive damages exist to punish the wrongdoer and deter future misconduct. They’re not about compensating you. They’re about sending a message, but you can’t get them in every case. The conduct has to rise to a certain level. We’re talking malicious or recklessly indifferent to your rights. There are caps, too. Federal law limits punitive damages against private employers based on company size. And good luck getting them against government defendants. In many cases involving government entities, punitive damages aren’t available at all. A Washington D.C. civil rights litigation lawyer can tell you whether what happened to you meets the threshold.
Attorney’s Fees Make Justice More Accessible
If you win your civil rights case, the defendant usually has to pay your attorney’s fees. Separately from whatever damages you recover. Congress built this into civil rights statutes like 42 U.S.C. § 1988 because they wanted to encourage people to stand up for their rights. Your lawyer gets paid out of the defendant’s pocket, not yours. It levels the playing field. Otherwise, defendants with deep pockets could just drag things out, knowing most people can’t afford years of litigation.
Caps And Limitations Vary By Claim Type
Title VII cases against private employers? There are statutory caps on compensatory and punitive damages combined. They range from $50,000 for smaller employers up to $300,000 for the biggest companies. Section 1983 claims against government officials don’t have those caps. But they come with their own problems. Qualified immunity can shut down your case before you ever get to damages. Different laws, different rules. Eric Siegel Law handles these cases regularly and knows how to navigate the different frameworks.
Moving Forward With Your Claim
Money doesn’t undo what happened to you. What it does do is hold people accountable and compensate you for real losses. If you think your rights were violated, start keeping records now. Document your financial losses. Keep a journal about how this is affecting you emotionally. Save emails, texts, performance reviews, everything. The stronger your documentation, the stronger your case.