You’ve been in an accident, you hired an experienced Louisville personal injury lawyer, and now you’re wondering about the value of your case. This is normal; you’re likely worried about mounting bills, paying for physical therapy, and meeting your other needs.
Calculating personal injury damages, especially losses like pain and suffering, can be complicated. Our attorneys understand these nuances; part of our case-building includes building justification for each dollar we demand.
Types of damages available in Kentucky personal injury claims
Kentucky personal injury laws permit plaintiffs in personal injury claims (the accident victim) to collect three types of damages:
- Economic
- Non-economic
- Punitive
Each type of damages is calculated differently.
Calculating economic damages in personal injury claims
Economic damages refer to the complete material losses you suffered due to the accident. Damages are calculated as past, present, and future needs, such as:
- Past and future medical expenses
- Lost wages and loss of earning potential
- Property damage
Calculating these damages is pretty straightforward: Tabulate all your bills and project future impact.
Medical-related damages
In personal injury cases, medical damages are figured out by adding up all the medical bills from the injury. This includes money spent on hospital stays, medicines, and doctor visits. It also covers any future medical costs if you need more treatment. Plus, it includes money for any therapy or special equipment you might need to help you recover. To show what you’ve spent and what you might need in the future, you use documents like medical records and bills.
Work-related losses
Lost wages is equally simple: Total up your daily pay rate and multiply it by the total days you missed. Loss of earning potential, though, is harder. Suppose you can no longer continue in your current job and have to take a lower-paying one to accommodate your changed abilities. In that case, you’re entitled to be compensated for the difference between what you’re earning now and what you would have earned.
We typically consult economic experts and forensic accountants to estimate your future earning potential, taking into account retirement and pension benefits and availability, changes in job demand, and inflation.
Property damage
Property damage is also fairly straightforward: We seek the full cost of repairing or replacing all lost and damaged property. You may also be entitled to compensation for the reduced value of your vehicle after being involved in a collision.
Future medical bills
Calculating future medical needs often requires an evaluation from a qualified medical specialist; we usually use medical experts to testify about what kind of medical care you’ll need as you recover, including consideration for complications in healing or post-surgery.
Calculating non-economic damages in personal injury claims
Non-economic losses are the intangible, yet still valuable, losses you suffer in a personal injury accident. These include:
- Pain and suffering
- Emotional trauma
- Diminished quality of life
- Loss of consortium, guidance, and companionship (damaged relationships with family)
Non-economic damages are calculated about the total economic damages in your case. Many tools can be used to try to assess the value of an injury, including the following:
- The Per Diem method, in which a dollar value is assigned for your pain, and then multiplied by the number of days that you’ll experience pain and suffering (and be otherwise impacted by the accident) for a total amount
- The Multiplier Method, in which you can multiply your total economic damages by a multiplier indicating the severity of your pain and suffering
Calculating non-economic damages is more subjective than tabulating your material losses, so we usually suggest you record a daily log of the accident’s impact on your life and your pain levels.
Calculating punitive damages
When it comes to how damages are calculated in a civil lawsuit, punitive damages focus solely on the dangerous conduct of the defendant. Essentially, your lawyer is asking a jury to fiscally punish the defendant for egregious behavior. Punitive damages can be in the millions. But they’re not available in every Kentucky personal injury claim.
Our personal injury lawyers want to secure the maximum compensation for your claim
If you or a loved one believe you have a personal injury claim, contact Grossman Green PLLC today for a free consultation at (502) 657-7100. We have a decades-long track record of high-dollar settlements and jury awards, and we’re ready to add you to this list!