Calculate Personal Injury Compensation
If you are injured because of another person or party’s negligence, you may seek compensation for your damages. There are certain factors that influence the exact amount of damages you could recover, including:
- Severity and extent of your injuries
- Treatment and Prognosis
- Proof of Liability against the Defendant
- Comparative Negligence
- Negotiations for a settlement
- Judge’s ruling in a verdict
Calculating damages in a personal injury case is complex. It is recommended that you consult a personal injury attorney to make sure that your rights are fully protected, including your right to file a personal injury claim or personal injury lawsuit for recoverable damages.
There Are Two Main Types of Recoverable Damages
A personal injury lawyer may file an insurance claim or a personal injury lawsuit on your behalf to pursue recovery for damages such as:
- Medical expenses
- Car rental
- Lost pay
- Pain and suffering
- Loss of consortium and companionship
You may notice that some of these damages are easily calculated because they are a fixed amount, such as a bill for a doctor’s visit. Other damages are less tangible, such as pain and suffering. It is simple to add up medical bills and other expenses, but how do you calculate the financial loss of a loved one or the mental anguish after a terrible car accident?
Fortunately, a personal injury lawyer has a deep understanding of liability laws and will make a careful evaluation to get you the compensation that you deserve. These include both specific and general damages.
- Specific damages are tangible expenses such as medical bills, car repairs, or lost wages. Specific damages are supported by receipts, canceled checks, or pay stubs.
- General damages are more difficult to evaluate because they are not within a fixed time schedule or event. For example, pain and suffering are considered general damage that may last weeks, months, or a lifetime.
These Factors Could Affect How Much You Can Recover
Your losses all come with inherent values. However, these factors could also affect your lawyer’s calculations:
Whether You Contributed to the Accident
Florida Statutes § 627.7407 deems Florida a “no-fault” state. This means, if you suffered harm in an accident, you can pursue damages even if you contributed to your injuries. Yet, your portion of fault directly affects how much you can seek.
Consider this scenario:
- You were involved in a car accident.
- It’s determined you caused 20 percent of the collision.
- Your losses total $1 million.
- Under the law, you could recover $800,000.
Your Fort Lauderdale car accident attorney will use evidence, including witnesses’ testimony, to combat unfair allegations of fault. This way, they can pursue what you’re rightfully entitled to recover whether through a claim or lawsuit.
The Severity of Your Condition
Compensation in your case could account for your necessary medical expenses. Your lawyer will consult with your healthcare team to fully understand your condition. Then, using that information, they’ll calculate and pursue what you need.
Your Quality of Life
Financial recovery goes beyond your monetary losses. It should reflect your quality of life after suffering grievous harm. Your lawyer will assess your mobility, earning power, and relationship with others to determine what you need.
Proving Liability Is Vital to Recovering Damages in a Personal Injury Case
A personal injury case occurs when a plaintiff (the injured party) files a claim or lawsuit against the defendant (the party who allegedly caused the injury). The defendant can be a person, company, or government agency.
In a personal injury case, the plaintiff’s lawyer will claim that the defendant acted in a way that caused harm, whether intentionally or irresponsibly.
Personal injury cases stem from any situation in which the defendant’s negligence caused harm to the plaintiff:
- Motor vehicle accidents
- Medical malpractice
- Slip and fall accidents
- Premises liability situations
- Workplace injuries
- Nursing home abuse and neglect
- Defective products
- Dog bites
- Assault or another unlawful act
The plaintiff may suffer both physical and emotional injuries, as well as property damage.
How a Personal Injury Lawyer Shows Liability
Personal injuries cannot be calculated until a lawyer has built a persuasive case for compensation. A personal injury lawyer will show that:
- The defendant owed the plaintiff a duty of care to avoid the accident if possible;
- The defendant breached this duty of care for some reason;
- This breach directly caused injury to the plaintiff;
- The plaintiff has damages from these injuries in the form of medical bills, pain and suffering, and other losses.
Your lawyer must show that it is more likely than not that the defendant is responsible for your injuries and therefore your damages.
How Comparative Negligence Affects Potential Financial Recovery
Many states have comparative negligence laws for personal injury cases. Depending on the specific statute, plaintiffs may seek compensation even if they played a minor role in the accident.
However, the total amount of compensation may be reduced according to the percentage of fault assigned to the plaintiff. Some states only allow you to seek compensation if you are less than 50 percent responsible. Other states have different qualifying structures. A personal injury lawyer in your state is familiar with these laws and can advise you accordingly.
Example of Comparative Negligence Impact on Compensation
If you live in a state that has a 51 percent threshold, you may seek compensation for your injuries and damages if you were less than 50 percent responsible. Your financial recovery would be reduced according to the percentage fault assigned to you by the insurance adjuster or the court.
For example, if your injuries and damages totaled $100,000 and your role in the accident was estimated to be 20 percent, your total compensation is reduced to $80,000. States with comparative negligence statutes believe that this is the best way to balance responsibility for an incident in which both parties contributed to the outcome.
How Personal Injuries Are Calculated
After a lawyer shows liability, it is time to calculate damages and send them to the insurance company or the court. Please keep in mind that there are usually a few rounds of negotiation between the plaintiff’s lawyer and the lawyer for the defendant. Likewise, a judge or jury may award more or less than the amount your lawyer seeks in a trial.
General damages are multiplied on a scale of 1.5 and 5 according to their severity, and an amount is assigned. The following kinds of damage often are a major factor in personal injury claims:
- Pain and suffering refer to constant pain that decreases or deprives the plaintiff of their earlier quality of life.
- Mental anguish refers to the emotional distress that goes with many personal injury claims, including depression, anxiety, fear, insomnia, and other emotional trauma.
- Loss of consortium or companionship applies to how personal injury affected the plaintiff’s relationships with their spouses, children, and other family members.
You Have a Limited Time to File a Personal Injury Lawsuit in Florida
According to Florida Statutes § 95.11, you must file a personal injury lawsuit within four years of getting hurt. Even if you’re owed millions of dollars, if you file your lawsuit outside of this period, you could lose the right to seek damages.
Your lawyer can do more than calculate your personal injury compensation. They can also file your lawsuit within the appropriate deadline. Doing so protects your right to legal action and allows you to seek damages.
An Attorney Can Seek Everything You Deserve
In a personal injury case, you could seek both economic and non-economic damages. Here’s what you need to know:
Economic Damages Account for Your Monetary Losses
Economic damages are the monetary losses you experience due to the accident. Your personal injury attorney will add up your receipts, invoices, and billing statements to determine their value. They may also consult with field experts (such as economists) to further understand your losses.
Examples of economic damages include:
- Medical bills: You can include any medical care you need to treat your injuries. This includes medications, doctors’ appointments, hospitalization, and other necessary healthcare services.
- Lost income: Your injuries may have required you to miss work. Financial recovery could account for lost tips, bonuses, and employee benefits.
- Diminished future earning capacity: Your injuries may permanently hurt your earning power. Your financial award could account for the difference in your earning power.
- Property damage: If you suffered harm in a collision, your car may have experienced damage. You deserve funds for the cost of any necessary repairs or replacements.
- Funeral expenses. Your settlement could pay for the cost of laying your loved one to rest. This would provide funds for their burial, cremation, memorial, and more.
Non-Economic Damages Reflect Your Hardships
Non-economic damages compensate the injured party for their non-monetary losses. Examples include:
- Pain and suffering: Pain and suffering compensates the injured person for their physical pain and emotional suffering. As noted, Florida does not cap how much you can recover for pain and suffering. That is, unless you suffered medical malpractice.
- Emotional distress: You may have suffered anxiety and depression as a result of your accident. Compensation in your case could account for those hardships.
- Loss of enjoyment of life: After sustaining an injury, you may not have the ability to participate in activities you once enjoyed. If so, you can include this in your case’s value.
- Loss of consortium: If you lost a loved one due to negligence, compensation could account for the loss of their care, society, and companionship.
Non-economic damages are more difficult to calculate than economic damages. That’s because they don’t come with documentation. Your personal injury attorney Fort Lauderdale will use a calculation method that reflects your situation and advocate for what you need.
We Are Here to Answer Your Questions
Calculating personal injuries is best left to a Florida personal injury lawyer who can accurately assess your situation. Please call the Law Offices of Wolf & Pravato at (954) 633-8270 for a free consultation.
