The value of your personal injury claim depends upon several factors. As a general principle, there are objective damages and subjective damages.
The objective damages are your out-of-pocket expenses. Lawyers call these damages “economic damages.”
ECONOMIC DAMAGES
First, how badly were you injured? This is generally measured by the total reasonably medically necessary medical expenses you incur to recover from your injuries. If you get a ton of unnecessary care, your case ain’t worth much. But if you get a lot of reasonably medically necessary medical care then your case value is objectively higher. You can recover the economic damage, that is the cost, of your medical care.
How long were you out of work? Did you use sick time, vacation time, or paid time off to seek medical care and to get your car fixed? If so, you may recover for your lost wages.
Were you unable to do common household tasks like laundry, dishes, cooking, and cleaning? If so, you can recover for “loss of household services,” which can be calculated based on what it would have cost you to hire a person to perform those services that you could not reasonably perform for yourself. This type of economic damage may require you to hire an expert witness to give an opinion as to how much money it would have cost you to hire somebody to perform the lost household services.
How much property damage did you suffer? You can recover the economic damage tied to the property damage you suffered. So if a car wreck damages your car, ruins your clothing, and damages your bicycle or your golf clubs — DEAR LORD NOT THE GOLF CLUBS!!–, you can recover from those economic losses.
Did your injury cause a permanent condition that has reduced your capacity to work in the future? If so, you can recover for the economic damage you will suffer over the remainder of your projected lifespan. This type of economic damage typically requires that you retain an expert witness to give an opinion as to the value of your lost future capacity to perform work.
You need a lawyer trained to think creatively about economic damages. A wily attorney can think of ways to argue for economic damages. It’s much more than just keeping track of receipts, which is a total pain in the ass if you’re not in a law firm set up to do it efficiently. Let Brendan and his firm keep track of and advance your claims for economic damages.
NONECONOMIC DAMAGES
Your non-economic damages are purely subjective and typically involve claims for pain and suffering; loss of enjoyment of life; loss of consortium; nature, duration, and extent of injuries; and emotional distress.
It’s one thing to say you were hurt.
But HOW were you hurt?
How did it change your life?
Did suffering a broken nose render you unable to kiss without an annoying nose-whistle?
Hey, that’s both losses of enjoyment of life AND loss of consortium!!
Did you, like one of Brendan’s clients, suffer a broken pelvis, spend seven months in grueling physical therapy, and come out the other side with minimal long-term problems?
Hey, I’m so happy you’re well! That’s GREAT!
But let’s talk about how CRAPPY those seven months were. How many hours a day were you in physical therapy? Did it hurt? How did it hurt? How much did it hurt? Have you ever felt anything else as painful? How many planned trips did you miss because you were stuck at home trying to recuperate? What effect did your injury have on your relationship with your wife and family?
Noneconomic damages are the type of damages that make injury claims worth more than the raw cost of getting you back to normal.
There’s no formula for noneconomic damages. It’s all up to the lawyer’s wits and advocacy.
Brendan is skilled at finding noneconomic damages, explaining them in detail using his background as a journalist, and ensuring that you can recover as much as the law will allow for your non-economic damages.
So… How much is your case worth? It depends. It depends on your injuries. And it depends on your lawyer. So…When you’re mendin’, Get BRENDAN! Call us today at (505) 591-0808!