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Back Injury Claim: Calculating Non-Economic Damages
Determining the amount of money to be paid to a claimant in a back injury claim is a complicated endeavor. An attorney will look to recent case awards with similar injuries, the severity of the injury, the impact on the claimants lifestyle and the overall impact the injury has had on his/her family.
What is Non-Economic Damages?
Non-economic damages are paid to an injured person in a personal injury claim to compensate them for their "pain and suffering", "loss of consortium", "loss of enjoyment of life" and other damages that cannot be directly correlated to an economic expense.
Getting Money for Non-Economic Damages
Unlike getting money for medical bills or lost income, demanding compensation for non-economic damages will require having an attorney with a track record for taking cases to court. Since most personal injury claims are paid by an insurance company, they will be reluctant to payout such large amounts of money unless they feel not doing so would wind them up in court.
Determining the Amount of Money
Since back injuries can vary from mild back pain to complete paralysis, coming up with a dollar figure for non-economic compensatory damages is much more of an art than a science. There are some ways to get a general "ballpark" number, using the total economic damages though.
For example, imagine a car accident where a driver sustained back injury. If the medical bills, lost income, property damage and other economic damages summed to $10,000, then a multiplier of between 1.5 times and 5 times could be applied. This would give a range of between $15,000 and $50,000 for pain and suffering. Obviously, it depends on the severity of the injury, and may end up being much more than $50,000 for a permanent, debilitating back injury.
Talk to a Personal Injury Lawyer
Anyone injured by the negligence of a third party, whether a car accident, slip and fall, work injury or other accident, should always consult with a personal injury lawyer before making any decisions or signing a release of liability.