When stating a claim for a back injury, many factors are involved. A back injury claim is a personal injury claim that allows you to collect remuneration from the individual or company responsible for your injury or accountable for the accident in which your injury occurred. Many kinds of back problems can result from accidents and falls. From the minor such as sprains and strain to more severe like herniated discs, and worse such as fracture-dislocation.
A successful back injury claim can compensate you for damages sustained because of your injuries. But there are several factors involved in finding the exact amount your claim can be awarded. Some factors may reduce or increase your compensation. We will now explain types of damages (usually grouped and called “compensatory damages”) that can be collected in a back injury claim and the factors that decide their value.
Types of damages and factors that affect them
Economic damages.
Economic damages (which can also be called special damages) are monetary losses for the money you spent, lost, or are unable to earn due to your injuries. There are two types of financial losses.
- Medical bills: In a back injury claim, one can calculate the medical expenses for treatment of the injury. Your lawyer should be able to get an accurate estimate of what you’ve already spent and what medical bills will accumulate in the future. The value of these bills depends on the severity of your wounds. Some severe back injuries can result in spinal problems and paralysis. The future medical care and therapy needed for such a case can cost millions.
- Income loss: In a back injury claim, the person who is responsible for your injury is obligated to pay you back the sum of income you were unable to earn while you were recovering. To claim this, you must be able to show the times missed from work because of your injury treatment and recovery. You must also be able to show how much money you would have made within that time.
- Note: While the loss of income is under economic damages, it’s addition will come after the multiplier is applied. We will explain more on the multiplier within the next factor.
- The value of repairing or replacing any property damaged as a result of the accident will also be added.
- Within the jurisdiction of a small number of states, “contributory negligence” is applied if you are partially at fault for the accident leading to your injuries. But, in most states, “comparative negligence” applies. This means you can still collect damages if the defendant was 50 or 51 percent responsible (the percentage differs from state to state). Your portion of responsibility will reduce your compensation.
Non-Economic Damages
These are compensation for losses resulting from the accident that you cannot put a price on. Some of these losses are pain and suffering, disability or disfigurement, loss of consortium, and emotional distress. There are federal limits placed on compensation for non-economic damages. They cannot be more than ten times higher than economic reimbursement.
- Pain and suffering: Typically, your pain and suffering damages are assessed by a pain multiplier with 1.5 for minor injuries and over 5 for major, long term injuries. For previous injuries that are life-changing, disfiguring, are permanent, or recurring, the pain multiplier, the judge, may score it above five. When you multiply your medical costs by the score given by the pain multiplier, the resulting amount is your reimbursement pain and suffering.
- Loss of consortium: This claim can also be called “loss of companionship.” In the instance where a back injury is so severe, such as in the case of paralysis, that the family of the victim cannot carry in a healthy relationship and companionship is lost, damages for loss of consortium could be awarded.
A loss of consortium case can only be filed by a spouse or domestic partner, parent, or child. To determine whether compensation should be awarded, an investigation may be carried into the mechanics of the complaint and the victim’s relationship before and after the accident.
- Emotional Distress: This part of your claims depends on you and your counsel being able to prove that the accident and injuries resulting, have led to some trauma or psychological problems. Your emotional distress must have an impact on your daily life for compensation, but the effect can be subjective. The reimbursement for emotional distress can be done as a component of “pain and suffering” or can be assessed separately.
- Punitive Damages: It’s quite rare that punitive damages are awarded in a personal injury case. The complainant must prove that their back injury was as a result of the defendant’s action and inaction. This must be proven to be more than just ordinary negligence. Even if that is established, it’s more likely that punitive damages be awarded to punish the defendant’s behavior than to compensate the victim.
- Finally, if you could’ve taken steps to avoid the worsening of your back injury and you chose not to, it can be used to shave off a portion of damages in favor of the defendant.
In conclusion
While you can presumably calculate your damages on your own, according to a back injury lawyer, the best way to find out how much a back injury is worth is to contact your local back injury lawyer. A lawyer will walk you through all the steps needed to win your case. Some lawyers who specialize in compensation claims can even work on a “no win, no fee” basis.
