Damages are the remedy a court awards when another party harms a person in a car accident, truck accident, or other type of personal injury. The court cannot undo the harm, but it can require the responsible party to pay damages to make the person “whole again” after an accident or personal injury. A Metairie personal injury attorney can help guide you through the legal process to ensure you receive the appropriate compensation for your injuries.
Non-economic damages are one of the two types of compensatory damages awarded in Louisiana personal injury cases.
Understanding Non-Economic Damages in a Louisiana Personal Injury Case
Economic damages compensate you for monetary losses and expenses related to your accident and injuries. They include expenses such as medical bills, property damage, out-of-pocket expenses, and lost wages.
Non-economic damages are intangible. They represent the pain and suffering you experienced because of what happened to you. They encompass all types of suffering caused by accidents, injuries, medical treatments, and psychological harm.
Non-economic damages are subjective because everyone suffers differently after an accident or injury. However, there are general categories of non-economic damages that are often seen in personal injury cases.
Physical Pain and Suffering
Injuries can cause agonizing discomfort and pain. Generally, the pain lessens as you heal from your injuries. However, some victims may experience chronic or long-term pain because of their injuries. In addition to the pain caused by the injuries, medical treatments and rehabilitative therapies may also cause pain and suffering.
Psychological Harm
Your experience may also result in emotional distress and mental anguish.
Signs and symptoms of emotional distress can include:
- Nightmares and flashbacks
- PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder)
- Anxiety and fear
- Chronic depression
- Mood shifts and changes in personality
- Changes in eating and/or sleeping patterns
- Inability to function in daily activities
- Withdrawal and isolation
- Anger and resentment
Mental anguish and emotional distress can be debilitating. A person may also experience embarrassment about their injuries and condition.
Loss of Enjoyment of Life and Diminished Quality of Life
Injuries may prevent you from enjoying the activities and events you usually find pleasurable. This type of harm can be short-term and lasts as long as you are healing from your injuries. However, permanent impairments, disabilities, scarring, and disfigurement can be life-long conditions.
When your injuries severely impact your activities and abilities, you may experience a decrease in quality of life. You may never be able to return to your ordinary activities or enjoy the same things you did before the accident and injury.
Permanent Physical Harm
You can receive compensation for the permanent physical harm caused by the accident or injuries. This harm includes scarring and disfigurement. It also includes disabling conditions and impairments, such as paralysis, vision/hearing loss, and brain damage.
Loss of Consortium
Close family members may experience loss because of the injuries sustained by their loved ones. They can seek compensation for these damages in the form of loss of consortium claims. Loss of consortium includes the loss of affection, love, household services, financial support, guidance, society, sexual relations, and other assistance from a loved one.
How Much Are Non-Economic Damages Worth in a Louisiana Personal Injury Case?
The value of non-economic damages is challenging to determine. It is impossible to put a price on someone’s pain and suffering. Even when victims sustain the same type of injury, their level of suffering may be vastly different.
Therefore, we analyze various factors to determine the level of suffering the injuries and experience cause a person.
Factors used to determine how much your pain and suffering are worth include:
- Whether your injuries prevent you from returning to work or ordinary daily activities
- Your appearance before and after the accident (i.e., the level of scarring and disfigurement)
- Whether you can care for your personal needs, such as bathing, feeding, grooming, dressing, etc.
- The type and severity of permanent impairments
- Whether your injuries prevent you from bearing and/or caring for children
- The impact your injuries have on your relationships with other people
- The type of medical treatments required for your injuries
- If your injuries are expected to result in long-term complications or consequences
Generally, the more your injuries impact your life, the higher the value of your non-economic damages. The multiplier method is a common method of calculating a monetary figure for pain and suffering.
Using the Multiplier Method to Calculate the Value of Your Non-Economic Damages
The multiplier method begins by assigning a value of 1.5 to five for pain and suffering. We use factors like those discussed above to determine the severity of the impact your injuries have on your life. As the degree of the impact increases, the multiplier increases. Therefore, someone with partial to complete paralysis might have a 4.5 to five multiplier.
We multiply the amount of your economic damages by the multiplier to obtain the value of your non-economic damages. Therefore, it is crucial to document all financial losses carefully to maximize the value for pain and suffering damages.
A Metairie Personal Injury Lawyer Can Help With a Non-Economic Damages Claim
Typically, you have just two years to file personal injury cases in Louisiana, but there could be some exceptions. Therefore, contact a Metairie personal injury lawyer as soon as possible to discuss filing a personal injury claim. The Law Office of John W. Redmann, L.L.C will guide you through every step of the way, you do not want to lose your right to file a lawsuit because you waited too long to seek legal advice, call us today at (504) 500-5000
