What are Future Damages in a Personal Injury Case?

What Are Future Damages in a Personal Injury Case?

In a personal injury case the compensation for your injuries are known as damages.

Compensatory damages are meant to make the injured party whole so they don't have to pay out of pocket for the expenses incurred as a result.

Damages can include everything from medical expenses and property damage to consideration for non-economic losses such as pain and suffering.

When you've been injured as a result of the negligent act of another,  let our attorney help you determine the full value for any long-term damages you may be entitled.

Generally, past expenses sustained following the injury are easy to calculate. One needs only to collect the medical bills, lost wages, and related expenses.

Depending on the severity of your injuries the full financial impact may result in future costs for years, the total value of which must be considered so you don't have to pay.

Future expenses, however, are trickier to calculate.

Recovery of civil lawsuit damages for any future projected costs, medical expenses, lost income and earning capacity is a serious matter for the injured.

In the case of permanent or partial disability, for example, it can be critical to ensure you can take care of your family throughout your recovery.

You need to talk with an attorney about your personal injury claim to learn what future damages you may be entitled to.

 

 

What Future Damages Can You Collect?

What damages may be available to collect after a personal injury depends upon the case's unique circumstances.

Future Economic Damages

Economic damages in a personal injury case generally include medical expenses, property damage, lost wages earning capacity, among others. In any injury settlement it is critical to include a full assessment of costs the recovery of which you may be entitled. More severe injuries typically result in more significant medical expenses, require ongoing treatment, and incur higher costs.

What Future Medical Expenses Can be Included in a Settlement?

• Hospital Bills: If your prognosis projects multiple surgeries, extended hospital stays, and follow-up examinations - all these expense estimates should receive consideration.
• Surgery Costs: Future surgeries, expected physician time, and expected revision surgeries should be estimated, projected, and included.
• Diagnostic Tests: All costs associated with the expected operatory procedure, including diagnostic tests, laboratory work, medical scans, and other tests, should receive consideration and be included in any settlement.
• Prescription Medications: An estimate of projected costs for any required prescription medications should be included in your claim.
• Therapy and Rehabilitative Costs: Treatment plans that include physical therapy, vocational therapy, or psychotherapy will require expense consideration for recommended appointments in the future.
• Medical Equipment: Injuries involving disability and mobility loss may require medical equipment, such as a wheelchair or prosthetic, and any related expenses should be added to your future damages. These expenses may be life-long in some cases.
• Modifications to the Home: Any required home modifications for disability suffered as a result of the injury, such as adding entrance ramps, retrofitting bathrooms, or installing medical equipment in the home, should be added to future damages sought.

The scope of future damages will be assessed on a case-by-case basis based on the nature of the injuries sustained. Your attorney will review the physician's recommended treatment plan to project the expected costs of the required procedures and related expenses. Years of medical treatment can be included if required. In some severe injuries, the life-long impact must be calculated and the amount accounted for.

What Future Earning Losses Can be Included in a Settlement?

If your injuries impact your ability to work and earn a living, you deserve compensation for the impact on your future earnings as well as your past losses.

Your earning capacity is estimated by reviewing your current earnings. Any partial or complete disability resulting in a reduction of that amount over the course of the expected impact is how future earning capacity damages are calculated.

Any impact on your future earning capacity should be assessed and quantified with your lawyer. A loss in future earning capacity can include not being able to work your job had you not been injured and any potential opportunity loss. Even if you weren't working when the injury was sustained, if it prevents you from working, you still qualify for a loss of future earning capacity.

These damages can be considerable in a personal injury claim. Compensation for future earnings can increase a settlement by millions of dollars in some cases, when you consider the lost earning potential over a lifetime.

Future Non-Economic Damages

Non-economic damages in a personal injury case can include monetary compensation for subjective losses such as pain and suffering. This is the court's way to provide financial recovery for the physical, emotional, and mental trauma sustained resulting from the injuries.

There are some jurisdictional variances to the law, but where applicable, future damages for pain and suffering should be considered.

How Future Pain and Suffering is Included in a Settlement?

The severity and nature of the injuries sustained, and the time required to recover will determine the extent and amount of future pain and suffering damages that can be sought.

Pain and suffering are calculated in a personal injury claim in two main ways. Either a variant of the multiplier method or the per diem method will be used.

In each case, the goal is to assign dollar amount to the suffering experienced by the injured party. Insurance companies will often multiply the assessed past and future actual damages by a number based on the severity of injuries sustained to determine an estimate for pain and suffering.

The per diem method assigns a daily amount for each day impacted by injury to calculate your per diem amount for pain and suffering.

Your injury lawyer will be able to help you calculate a fair estimate for future damages based on the impact your injuries had.

What Kind of Accidents Can Cause Future Damages?

The more devastating the accident the greater chance the victim will suffer long-term damages. Big settlements involving future damages commonly involve partial disability, permanent injuries, and/or loss of mobility or function due to what happened. The most common case types we encounter which can cause future damages include:

• Auto Accidents: Serious collisions regularly result in injuries requiring long-term medical care, prolonged pain and suffering, or result in life-altering disability. Exactly how long pain lasts after a car accident can vary from days, to weeks, to years in some cases based on the nature of injury. Insurance claims regularly include future damages to account for the long-term impact of the injuries suffered in a serious crash.
• Medical Malpractice: Cases involving medical malpractice in which the patient suffered life-long harm due to the negligent actions of the hospital, physician, nurses, or medical staff. These complex cases can range from birth injuries to surgical mistakes and medication and doctor errors, which caused significant harm and/or serious complications as a result.
• Slip and Fall: Falls on public premises that fail to keep the property safe can cause broken bones, ankle fractures, and in severe cases, brain injuries which can lead to future damages.
• Work Injuries: On-the-job injuries can vary in severity from broken fingers, carpal tunnel syndrome, and broken backs to fatalities. Dangerous jobs have a number of hazards and associated risks and we regularly receive workers' compensation claims from people hurt while on the job whose injuries impact their future earning capacity.
• Traumatic Brain Injury: Cases involving TBI injuries typically involve future damages accounting for the potential long-term impact it can have. Several brain injuries result in life-long complications, which can require recovery of considerable future damages to account for the expected expenses and impact it will have for many years.
• Defective Products: Product liability claims involving unsafe manufacturing or deceptive practices that caused serious injury to the consumer. Unsafe products that cause serious injury can result in future damages in any subsequent claim seeking compensation.