In personal injury claims and subsequent personal injury cases, damages encompass all of the economic damages and non economic damages that a victim turned plaintiff may be awarded due to the negligent or intentional conduct of the defendant. These are often precipitated by an event like a car accident.
General and special damages compensate the victim for all their injuries and other effects like pain and suffering, lost wages, property damage, bodily pain, medical bills, costs, expenses, loss of companionship, emotional distress, and other types of damage.
General damages include the non economic harm a victim may experience and these may be difficult to calculate. Special damages are the out of pocket expenses and costs associated with the same event. Note, these do not relate to punitive damages which are meant to punish the defendant and not to compensate the victim.