Brain injuries can cause permanent physical and mental damage. Determining the value of a person’s injuries can often be complicated.
Generally, damage awards in a personal injury case include two types of damages: compensatory damages and punitive damages. Punitive damages are typically reserved for cases in which a defendant’s actions justify a monetary punishment as opposed to simply compensating a victim, and are generally awarded at the discretion of a judge or jury.
In most injury cases, the value of your case will largely depend on the amount of compensatory damages you are awarded. How are these damages calculated in a brain injury lawsuit?
Calculating Damages
There are a number of different factors that may contribute to the amount of damages a court determines were caused by an accident or injury. In a case involving brain injuries, it may be important to consider not just damages that have already occurred, but also those that are likely to occur in the future as a result of a brain injury.
For example, lost wages from work missed following an injury are one common type of damage recoverable in a personal injury lawsuit. But in a brain injury lawsuit, it will also be important to show the loss of future earning capacity due to the long-term physical, mental, and emotional effects of a brain injury.
Other Types of Compensatory Damages
Lost wages and future earning capacity are just two of many potential factors in a damages calculation. Some other common sources of damages include:
- Medical expenses. These may include not only the cost of treatment following an accident or injury, but the need for future medical expenses as well.
- Pain and suffering. Pain and suffering damages allow a plaintiff to recover for both past and present mental and physical anguish suffered as a result of an injury.
- Loss of enjoyment. Sometimes included in pain and suffering damages, loss of enjoyment damages, also known as hedonic damages, compensate a plaintiff for a loss in quality of life.
Of course, each brain injury case is different, which is why you’ll want to consult a Parvey & Cavenago attorney about the best way to pursue compensation.
