These are often the dollars that make or break a case, because they cover the human fallout of an injury, not just the receipts. General damages are money awarded for losses that do not come with a fixed bill or exact price tag, such as pain, suffering, emotional distress, loss of enjoyment of life, scarring, and sometimes harm to a close relationship. They are different from special damages, which pay back measurable losses like medical bills, lost wages, or property damage.

In practice, general damages can be a major part of an injury claim when the injury changes daily life in ways a paycheck stub cannot show. A person hurt in a zero-visibility crash during a spring dust storm on I-25 may have modest medical bills but still live with chronic pain, panic while driving, or trouble sleeping. Those losses are real, and they are usually claimed as general damages. To prove them, people often use treatment records, pain journals, photos, family observations, and testimony about what life was like before and after the injury.

In New Mexico, the amount can also be reduced under the state's pure comparative negligence rule if the injured person shares fault. And in claims against a government agency, the New Mexico Tort Claims Act (1976) can limit total recoverable damages, which may affect how much of these non-economic losses can actually be collected.