How to Value Back Injury Compensation

When one sustains a back injury in an automobile accident, the victim will seek both economic and non-economic damages as back injury compensation.  The economic damages will consist of medical expenses and lost income, often resulting in substantial amounts.  The non-economic damages will consist of pain and suffering, usually making up the greatest portion of back injury compensation. 

Economic Damage Compensation

Economic damages are paid out to compensate victims for the monetary losses they have incurred due to the accident that caused the back injury.  These damages include the following categories:

• Lost income
• Lost ability to earn income
• Medical expenses
• Other damages

Calculating lost income involves taking the amount of income that would have been received from the time of the accident to the present time.

Calculating the lost ability to earn income involves the lawyer showing that the victim can no longer earn the same rate of income, or even no income at all.  That rate of income is then projected out over the life of the victim to determine the amount of money that the victim would have made over the course of his/her life.  This includes any projected rate increases that the victim would have received based on the industry he/she was working in.

Medical expenses can be demonstrated by keeping all medical records, keeping pay stubs from 6 months to 1 year before the back injury and showing proof of any other costs due to the back injury.

Non-Economic Damage Compensation

Non-economic damages are paid out to victims to compensate for their pain and suffering, loss of consortium (disruption of marriage relationship due to injury), loss of enjoyment of life and other damages that cannot be directly connected to economic expenses.  

To receive money for non-economic damages, it is vital you have an attorney with a track record of taking similar cases to court.  Insurance companies will not be eager to pay large amounts of money to settle the case unless they feel that paying out large amounts of money is the only way to avoid a trial and facing off with that experienced lawyer.

Unlike economic damages, there is no set value for determining the dollar amount.  There are ways to gain a general number using the total economic damages.  A multiplier of 1.5 to 5 times can be applied to the total amount of medical bills, lost income, property damage and other economic damages caused by the accident.  The exact multiplier would depend on the severity of the injury and how long it would take to recover from the injury, with a higher multiplier being applied if the injury is long-term or permanent.

Getting Legal Help

Cases involving automobile accidents and back injury compensation can become complicated, which is why it is advised you hire an experienced personal injury attorney.  A personal injury attorney will give you the best opportunity to gain all of the economic and non-economic compensation you are entitled to.