Accidents happen. As tired of a phrase as that is, it is in fact accurate. From a car accident or injury like slip and fall, any accident can pop and change your life forever. That is why the law may compensate a victim and damages are awarded to the plaintiff in certain instances.
When we talk about damages, we normally mean compensatory damages (economic damages and non economic or special damages aka non monetary damages) and punitive damages for all the types of personal injury you may imagine: pain and suffering; emotional distress, medical expenses for medical care, lost wages, loss of enjoyment of life, physical pain, and other expenses that may be awarded for injuries to the victim.
These compensation damages from court are meant to compensate the injured and attempt to restore them to life before the accident as are all kinds of damages. This is what we mean by compensatory damages in personal injury cases.