Understanding Damages in Personal Injury Lawsuits

Understanding Damages in Personal Injury Lawsuits

Key Takeaways:

• Pre-trial discovery is crucial for revealing the full value of your case
• Medical treatment costs and future healthcare expenses are major factors in settlements
• Maximizing medical recovery amounts requires diligent documentation
• Lost wages and earning potential are significant components of damages
• Property damage can include vehicle repairs and personal item replacement
• Insurance companies use various formulas to evaluate claims
• Comparative negligence can affect your settlement amount

While our law firm is protecting all your personal injury claim rights, we’ll also keep you informed about the defendant’s insurance company responses to our case settlement demands. Yet those negotiations may move slowly until you’ve completed most of your early surgeries and treatments. That’s when the insurance company adjustors can gain a more accurate picture of all your recent accident injury expenses – and possible need for future or ongoing medical care.

What follows is a general review of several key factors that can affect the financial damages that the defendant’s insurance adjustors will likely pay for all your injuries, treatment expenses, lost wages/earning potential, and property damage losses. There is also a brief look at the three main formulas that some insurance companies use to assess your various damages.

The pre-trial discovery phase can help promote our legal strategies for settlement

After an early settlement offer is rejected, the pre-trial discovery process can help reveal the full value of your case. If your doctors state in their records that you’ve suffered major or catastrophic injuries — their prognosis will likely support the full amount requested for all your medical expenses – as well as pain and suffering. And insurance adjustors know that if they don’t settle, a highly sympathetic jury may be quick to enter a very generous verdict.

Keep in mind that a defendant who harms a plaintiff usually causes physical injuries, property damage, and lost earnings. If other losses apply, we will file a claim for those interests, too. Here’s a closer look at each of the main categories that usually lead to damage awards.

Medical treatment costs & future healthcare expenses due solely to this event

As soon as your emergency room treatment has ended, and all immediate surgeries completed, we will request copies of all those medical records. Your settlement amount has everything to do with the nature and extent of your injuries. If you had to undergo multiple surgeries to stabilize your medical condition, each one would provide a window into all the many hardships that you’ve had to endure, and help justify all your future pain and suffering claims.

Surgeries always come with great risks, and insurance adjustors know that if you’ve previously enjoyed excellent health, they may have to pay a generous sum to cover all your losses. And even if you had already suffered previous injuries, we can still document the better health you were still enjoying prior to this most recent personal injury accident.

Ways that personal injury clients can maximize their medical recovery amounts

• Obtain all recommended treatments – and attend every scheduled appointment. For our firm to successfully present a convincing case on your behalf, we must be able to show that you diligently pursued all prescribed treatments. If you truly cannot make a specific appointment, always cancel it in a timely manner before rescheduling with the same doctor or treatment center.
• As your Brooklyn personal injury attorneys, we must be able to honestly support your claims that you remain in great pain, are benefitting from your treatments, and are eagerly obtaining all recommended therapies.
• Keep an accurate diary that notes all medical appointments and related fees. This helps us properly include all treatment visits and costs. However, try to limit any private comments in the diary since we may later have to share it with the defendants’ attorneys during the discovery process. You can just note the name of each treating therapist/doctor you’ve met with, the date, the treatment provided, and the location. You should also keep track of any out-of-pocket parking or transportation fees spent to help you keep these appointments.
• Make a list of all the medical equipment you have had to buy – based on written doctors’ orders. Over time, these costs can grow quite large. Of course, you can also check to see if your medical insurance policy will help you cover these expenses in a timely manner.
• If you’ve needed to start psychotherapy – or continue it (mainly due to the trauma of your recent accident), ask your psychotherapist to document this in a brief letter. It should be signed, dated, and placed in your file. The therapist can just note if you are suffering new or added stress, anxiety, or depression due to the nature of your new personal injuries. Sometimes, family therapy is also required if the injured party can no longer physically manage certain chores – that others must now add to their busy schedules.

Once a family’s main (or only) paycheck stops – debt levels can quickly escalate

While both parents often work in many families today, it’s still common for one partner to be a full-time family caregiver. When the main or only breadwinner can no longer work, all savings may quickly disappear, causing serious financial hardships. Be sure to keep track of all these new expenses caused by this situation. In some catastrophic cases, this newly disabled employee’s limitations may prove to be so severe and extensive that he can never work again.

• Our law firm will need your signature on a release form so we can obtain all pertinent work records. Besides allowing us to document all your lost wages, this will also help us review your employee benefits to see if you’re eligible for any disability income now. People sometimes forget about benefits that they’ve never needed in the past.
• Once we have this employee wages and benefits data, we can begin documenting all your recent, injury-related earning losses – and project what you will lose during the next few months, while still under treatment. If you sustained a severe, permanent disability that your doctors have stated in writing will prevent you from ever working again, we often hire an independent expert to provide us with a breakdown of calculating injury damages. This professional data becomes quite useful to us in settlement negotiations. If we cannot agree on a settlement amount, we will call this employment expert to testify at your trial.

Property damage losses

What frequently happens in car or truck accidents is that a plaintiff’s vehicle will be seriously damaged and must then be fully repaired. In other cases, the vehicle is so severely damaged that it must be “totaled” so the plaintiff can be paid a lump sum for it. Unfortunately, this amount doesn’t always cover replacing most older vehicles.

If the plaintiff was carrying expensive computer equipment and other consumer goods (like a high-priced cell phone) in her car that were destroyed, the defendant’s insurance company must usually reimburse the plaintiff for the replacement value of each severely damaged item.

Common ways that some defendants’ insurance adjustors evaluate your claim

Many insurance companies do not like to simply add up all the recorded medical debts, lost earnings, and damaged property involved in each new lawsuit. Instead, they believe their experience helps them use cost-saving formulas for determining proper settlement awards. Of course, as the plaintiff, it’s always your decision to accept or reject any offer presented to us on your behalf. Here’s a look at three of the key methods used for evaluating claims.

• The use of a damage formula that is simply based on all the plaintiff’s requested medical expenses. This calculated sum is then multiplied by the insurance company’s private number — based on the seriousness of the plaintiff’s injuries. In other words, their somewhat arbitrary numbers are linked to whether your injuries are viewed as catastrophic, moderate, or minor. They tend to range from using the number five for the very worst injuries — down to numbers one or two for minimal harm.
• A per diem calculation may be used. This approach is often used to help the insurance adjustor place a standardized value on each day that the plaintiff claims she suffered serious or severe post-accident pain. This can also be used to attach a value to the number of days the plaintiff asserts that other types of non-economic damages had to be endured.
• A multiplier method of calculation may be used. This seems to require a much more comprehensive approach that involves adding all the requested medical expenses, property damage, non-economic expenses like pain and suffering, and lost wages. This total sum is then multiplied by the special number or multiplier chosen by the defendant’s insurance company. However, this mathematical approach can be further complicated by the need to adjust for “aggravating circumstances.”

While each of these approaches appeal to various companies, they all basically revolve around paying the basic amount that’s surely due and owing – without adding a penny extra.

How can comparative negligence affect your case?

Although some personal injury cases involve clear-cut events that were recorded by nearby building surveillance cameras, the average accident happens so fast that fair-minded witnesses might disagree on what happened. For these reasons, courts will carefully evaluate all witness testimony, listen to accident reconstruction experts, and study the position of the vehicles after the collision ended. All this evidence may show that while the defendant may have hit the plaintiff, this injured party may have unintentionally played a role in causing the accident. For example, the defendant may have been speeding down the street – but the plaintiff may have suddenly pulled out from a curb – without providing any advance signal.

In such cases, a court may assign a percentage of accident liability to each party. And if the plaintiff is assessed significantly less fault than the defendant, New York’s comparative negligence laws will usually still allow the plaintiff to collect a slightly reduced verdict.

If you have suffered serious injuries after an accident caused by someone else’s negligence, you need to contact our Brooklyn personal injury accident law firm. We will carefully investigate all the facts of your case, review all your medical records, and then fight hard to win the maximum compensation available to you. We want every client to fully recover for all lost wages, pain and suffering, medical expenses, and other losses.

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FAQ Section:

1. Q: What factors affect the financial damages in a personal injury case?
   A: Key factors include medical treatment costs, future healthcare expenses, lost wages/earning potential, property damage losses, and pain and suffering. The severity of injuries and their impact on daily life also play a significant role.
2. Q: How does the pre-trial discovery phase impact a personal injury case?
   A: The pre-trial discovery process can help reveal the full value of your case by providing detailed information about your injuries, medical expenses, and prognosis. This information can support your claim for damages and potentially lead to a more favorable settlement.
3. Q: What should I do to maximize my medical recovery amount?
   A: To maximize your medical recovery amount, you should obtain all recommended treatments, attend every scheduled appointment, keep an accurate diary of medical visits and related fees, list all medical equipment purchases, and document any necessary psychotherapy.
4. Q: How are lost wages calculated in a personal injury case?
   A: Lost wages are calculated based on your work records, which document recent injury-related earning losses. For long-term or permanent disabilities, an independent expert may be hired to provide a breakdown of injury damages and project future earning losses.
5. Q: What types of property damage can be claimed in a personal injury lawsuit?
   A: Property damage claims can include vehicle repair or replacement costs, as well as the replacement value of any personal items damaged in the accident, such as computers or cell phones.
6. Q: How do insurance companies evaluate personal injury claims?
   A: Insurance companies often use formulas to evaluate claims, including:
   • Multiplying medical expenses by a factor based on injury severity
   • Using a per diem calculation for pain and suffering
   • Applying a multiplier method that considers various factors
7. Q: What is comparative negligence, and how does it affect a personal injury case?
   A: Comparative negligence is when both parties share some fault for the accident. In New York, if the plaintiff is found to be less at fault than the defendant, they may still collect damages, but the amount may be reduced based on their percentage of fault.
8. Q: Why is it important to keep a diary during my personal injury case?
   A: Keeping a diary helps track all medical appointments, related fees, and out-of-pocket expenses. This documentation supports your claim and ensures all costs are included in your settlement demand.
9. Q: How does a catastrophic injury impact a personal injury settlement?
   A: Catastrophic injuries often result in higher settlements due to their long-term or permanent effects on the victim’s life, including ongoing medical care, potential loss of earning capacity, and significant pain and suffering.
10. Q: What role do medical records play in a personal injury case?
    A: Medical records are crucial in documenting the nature and extent of your injuries, treatments received, and prognosis. They serve as evidence to support your claim for damages and justify future medical expenses.
11. Q: How are future medical expenses calculated in a personal injury settlement?
    A: Future medical expenses are typically calculated based on your doctors’ prognosis and expert testimony regarding your ongoing treatment needs and potential complications related to your injuries.
12. Q: Can emotional distress be included in a personal injury claim?
    A: Yes, emotional distress can be included as part of your non-economic damages. This may include anxiety, depression, or PTSD resulting from the accident and injuries.