Economic damages are the countable losses — medical bills, lost wages, future care — backed by receipts and records. Non-economic damages cover pain, suffering, and reduced quality of life.
Settlements usually build the economic total first, then estimate non-economic damages as a multiple of it, scaled to severity and permanence.
Strong documentation of the economic side raises both the base and, through the multiplier, the non-economic estimate — which is why records matter so much.