Economic damages: the documented, countable losses
Economic damages are the straightforward, receipt-backed part of a claim. In a Massachusetts personal injury case, this generally includes medical expenses already incurred, lost wages from time away from work, property damage, and reasonably anticipated future medical care or lost earning capacity tied directly to the injury.
Non-economic damages: the subjective losses
Non-economic damages cover the losses that don't come with a receipt: pain and suffering, loss of companionship, embarrassment, and other nonpecuniary harm. These are inherently harder to quantify, which is exactly why the multiplier method exists — to translate a documented economic figure into a reasoned estimate of the non-economic side.
Why this split decides everything in an ordinary malpractice claim
G.L. c. 231, § 60H caps only noneconomic damages at $500,000 in a standard Massachusetts malpractice case. Economic damages pass through entirely uncapped, so a well-documented economic damages tally is especially valuable once the noneconomic side has maxed out at the statutory limit.
Why this split loses most of its meaning against a charity
Here's the genuinely important exception: if the defendant qualifies as a charitable organization, the charitable immunity cap under § 85K limits total tort liability — economic and noneconomic combined — to just $20,000. In that scenario, the usual distinction between the two categories barely matters practically, since both are swept into the same small combined ceiling regardless of how they're classified.
Fault treats both categories the same way
Massachusetts's 51% fault bar doesn't distinguish between economic and non-economic damages. If your fault bars the claim, it bars recovery of both categories together; below that threshold, both are reduced by the same proportion.