How Are Future Damages in Personal Injury Cases Calculated?
When someone is injured in an accident they may be awarded financial compensation for losses related to their injury. Sometimes these losses haven’t happened yet but are expected to occur. These are considered future damages. The personal injury lawyers of Foley Law Firm help accident victims secure future damages when their injuries are expected to have prolonged ramifications.
With that said, the attorneys of Foley Law Firm would like to take a moment to explain what’s considered when calculating future damages in personal injury cases in Scranton, PA, Stroudsburg, PA, Wilkes-Barre, PA, and surrounding areas.
What Are Future Damages?
Future damages in a personal injury case refers to financial compensation for losses that are expected in the future as a result of the injuries sustained in an accident. These can be anything from bills to emotional distress. For example:
- Medical expenses: Future damages can include medical expenses related to the accident, such as physical therapy, surgeries, or medications, that are expected to be needed at a later time.
- Loss of earnings: Another common type of future damage sought in personal injury cases is loss of future earnings. Sometimes injuries are so severe that a person won’t be able to continue in their current profession or may not be able to work at all. This loss of future earnings can be recovered through future damages.
- Emotional distress: In addition to tangible damages, like medical bills and lost earnings, damages for emotional distress or pain and suffering may be included in future damages. This is especially true for those who have suffered a serious injury, like a spinal cord injury, that can cause lifelong mental anguish and greatly impact their future quality of life.
Calculating Future Damages
Unlike past damages that have known dollar amounts, such as hospital bills and lost wages, future damages have not happened yet and require appropriate calculations.
A common way to calculate future damages is to add up past damages and use that information to estimate how much these damages may cost in the future. For example, loss of future earnings may be determined by taking a person’s current salary and multiplying that by the number of years they would have likely worked.
Often, this requires expert witnesses, such as doctors or physical therapists, to explain the lifelong impact of the injuries and what expenses may be expected as a result. Other witnesses, such as an employer, may also need to testify to help support claims for future damages.
Consulting such experts is essential for calculating an amount for future damages and demonstrating to the court that the future damages are warranted and are not an inflated number.
Contact the Attorneys of Foley Law Firm
It’s important that accident victims seek future damages when their injuries are expected to cause lifelong challenges. If you’ve been involved in an accident that has left you with injuries you believe will continue to affect you in the future, you may be entitled to future damages. Our attorneys can discuss your case with you and explain your legal options. Please call the Foley Law Firm at (570) 342-8194 to schedule a consultation.