Calculating Damages in Massachusetts Injury Cases

How Are Legal Damages Calculated?

After you have been injured in an accident, it is crucial to hold responsible parties accountable for their negligence. When you are not at fault, why should you pay for your recovery? The purpose of an injury lawsuit is to recover financial damages that help you obtain the services you need.

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

What Are Hedonic Damages?

Hedonic damages, often referred to as non-economic damages, can be the hardest to quantify, yet can have the most impact on your life. You are entitled to compensation from the insurance company of the person responsible for your accident for all of your past and future non-economic damages. We demonstrate your needs through your testimony and medical records.

Examples of non-economic damages are:

• Personal injuries
• Pain and suffering
• Disfigurement
• Mental anguish
• Anxiety
• Effects on day-to-day activities

You should begin to document your non-economic damages in writing as soon as possible after an accident. 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, and canes even after you are finished using them.

Finally, try to keep a diary of your pain and suffering and document 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 as well as the pain, suffering, and aggravation you endured.

Calculating Economic Damages in a Personal Injury Case

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. We hire an expert economist to analyze you as an economic being and work with your doctor to illustrate the injuries preventing you from working.

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.

How Medical Bills Count as Economic Damages

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, compensation can be recovered for the cost of any and all reasonable and necessary future medical expenses.

Here again, our 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 accident.

The Local Law Firm You Can Trust

Experience is one of the most important characteristics of a lawyer. The experienced pursuit of justice and compensation that comes with years of working with clients. As a full-service personal injury firm, Morgan & Murphy only fights on behalf of victims. When you work with our team, you’re working with the premier legal team in the Eastern Mass area.