Economic damages: the documented, countable losses
Economic damages are the straightforward, receipt-backed part of a claim. In a Rhode Island 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, suffering, and similar 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.
A total cap, not a noneconomic-only cap
Where most states that cap malpractice damages limit only noneconomic damages, Rhode Island's government damages cap works differently — it's a $100,000 ceiling on total damages, combining economic and noneconomic categories together. A claim against a government entity with $80,000 in medical bills alone would leave only $20,000 of room for every other category of damages combined.
Two exceptions that remove the cap entirely
The $100,000 government cap doesn't apply in two situations: when the government was engaged in a "proprietary function" — acting more like a private business than a governmental body — in causing the harm, or when the claim involves willful, malicious, or extremely reckless conduct. In either situation, damages against the government are recoverable without the statutory limitation.
None of this touches a private defendant
Whatever cap questions arise against a government entity, a private defendant in Rhode Island — including a private doctor, hospital, or business — faces no cap of any kind on economic or noneconomic damages.