Economic Damages for Personal Injuries

Money cannot buy happiness, but it can make a big difference in how much medical treatment you can afford. After an accident, if you receive prompt care by a plastic surgeon, followed by months of physical therapy, you may be able to avoid a permanent disability. In some cases, getting the proper treatment after a spinal cord injury can prevent permanent paralysis. Personal injury attorneys are not in the business of putting a price tag on someone’s health. Rather, a North Dakota personal injury attorney like Tatum O’Brien, Tim O’Keeffe, or Sara Monson aims to help injured people pay for the medical care that would restore them to their best possible health. Therefore, a big part of a car wreck attorney’s task is to determine the extent of the economic damages suffered by an injured person, in order to obtain a fair reimbursement from the person or entity who caused them.

How do Personal Injury Attorneys Calculate Economic Damages?

Economic damages are the amount of money the injured person has lost as a result of the injury, whether in the form of expenses or lost income. Many personal injury cases also end with the judge ordering the defendant to pay, or the defendant agreeing to pay non-economic damages, as well. Economic damages are easier to calculate than non-economic damages. When the best personal injury attorney determines how much money to request in economic damages, he or she considers the following questions.

• How much money did you have to pay for medical treatment as a result of your injury? This figure can include bills for doctor visits, hospital stays, surgery, prescription drugs, physical therapy, chiropractic treatment, and medical devices, among other expenses. You can determine this amount simply by looking at your medical bills.
• How much income did you lose by not working after your injury? You can determine this figure by multiplying the amount of money you earn per pay period by the number of pay periods you were out of work.
• If you have not yet returned to work, how much future income are you losing by continuing to be unable to work? If doctors can predict a time when the injured party can return to work, multiply the amount of money per pay period by the number of pay periods from the time the lawsuit is filed until the plaintiff will be able to return to work. If the plaintiff will not be able to work at all, then multiply by the number of pay periods until retirement, and also figure in lost pay raises and a retirement pension. 

Who Should Pay Economic Damages?

The party whose negligence caused the injury should be responsible for reimbursing the injured party for the economic damages incurred. It could be the driver that caused a car wreck, for example, or the manufacturer of a dangerously defective product. Sometimes there is more than one liable party for a single injury-causing incident.

Contact O’Keeffe O’Brien Lyson Foss About Personal Injury Cases

You could be entitled to reimbursement for the economic damages incurred as a result of your accident-related injury.  Contact O’Keeffe O’Brien Lyson Foss in Fargo, North Dakota to discuss your case or call 701-235-8000 or 877-235-8002. Ask for Tatum O’Brien, Tim O’Keeffe, or Sara Monson, experienced personal injury attorneys ready to work for you.