Whistleblowers fired for reporting government waste can recover for noneconomic damages, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruled on Tuesday, in a decision that some attorneys have said could open the door to suits that previously were not viable.

The state high court unanimously decided that the Pennsylvania General Assembly intended to include noneconomic damages for injuries such as humiliation and mental anguish in the phrase “actual damages,” which is what whistleblowers are entitled to recover under the state Whistleblower Law.