Morgan & Murphy, llp | A Personal Injury Law Firm

The presentation of your personal injury/pain and suffering claim is comprised of various elements. Your damages are calculated both as hedonic (lifestyle) damages and economic damages.

Hedonic damages, often referred to as non-economic damages, can be the hardest to quantify yet can have the most significant impact on your life. Examples of non-economic damages are personal injuries, pain and suffering, disfigurement, mental anguish, anxiety and effects on activities of daily living. You are entitled to compensation from the insurance company of the person responsible for the accident for all of your past non-economic damages as well as all future non-economic damages as can be demonstrated by your testimony and your medical records.

As soon as possible after an automobile accident you should begin to document your non-economic damages in writing. This can be done by taking pictures of any and all cuts, scarring, bruising or swelling. Make sure to keep any medical devices like casts, crutches, braces, canes and the like even after you are finished using them. Finally, try to keep a diary of your pain and suffering and how the injuries sustained in the accident affected your day to day life and the lives of your loved ones. All of this evidence helps in evaluating any non-economic impact the accident had on your life and the pain, suffering and aggravation you endured.

LOST WAGES
Economic damages are more easily calculated. Generally they consist of past lost wages, past medical bills and, if applicable, future lost income and medical expenses. Past lost wages are calculated by looking at your past earnings history and applying your average weekly earnings to the days you missed from work due to injuries sustained in the accident. If you are self-employed or are paid on a commission basis, past earning capacity is also calculated by reference to your earnings history.

If you are unable to get back to your job due to injuries sustained in the accident, the laws of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts permit recovery for all future lost earning capacity if the amount can be calculated to a reasonable degree of economic certainty. Generally, an expert economist is hired to analyze you as an economic being. Your past earnings together with all of your benefits from your employment are considered and thereafter projected into the future, taking into consideration adjustments for increases in future costs of living. Any and all earnings and earning capacities are analyzed in determining future potential earnings. It is, of course, imperative that the disabilities prohibiting you working and earn are fully documented by expert medical and/or vocational evidence.

MEDICAL EXPENSES
Medical bills incurred in the diagnosis and treatment of your injuries sustained in the accident are also elements of damages. Medical treatment must be reasonable and necessary at the time the treatment is rendered. If you need long term care, recovery can be had for the cost of any and all reasonable and necessary future medical expenses, provided however, the need for the future medical expenses is established to a reasonable degree of medical certainty. Here again, expert evidence is required to establish the need and amount of future medical expenses. Based on the nature and extent of your disability, life care plans and future medical plans can be developed by appropriate medical experts. The projected costs of the plans are then considered in determining a recovery for personal injuries and pain and suffering arising out of the automobile accident.



Return to Top