Calculating Economic and Non-Economic Damages After a Car Accident

Determining economic and non-economic damages a car accident is never a simple process. At Silverman, McDonald & Friedman, our Delaware car crash lawyers know how to protect the interests of injured accident victims in and around Wilmington, Newark, and Seaford.

One summer evening you were driving to a rehearsal dinner for your cousin’s wedding and you see a vehicle careening towards you traveling in the wrong direction on the highway. The next thing you know, you are waking up in the hospital to the sounds of beeping machines and lights, and people talking, and a lot of pain. You were involved in a terrible accident, and the doctors and everyone around you seems shocked to see that you have survived and that you are conscious.

The days to come will bring tremendous pain.  There goes that promotion that you have been working and preparing for months at work. The months of marathon training and preparations are all flushed away as you wonder if you will ever walk again. Your life has been completely interrupted, and you are facing more surgery, physical therapy and the anxiety of being stuck in the hospital while life carries on without you.

Given that you had no fault in the accident that you were fortunate enough to survive, you have the right to pursue financial compensation from the person who caused the crash that resulted in your catastrophic injuries. The civil justice system provides a legal remedy for those who have suffered injury due to no fault of their own. You can file a lawsuit against the negligent parties and recover financial compensation for your losses. Although no amount of money will restore your health and allow you to resume marathon training as if nothing ever happened, at least the money will pay the astronomical medical bills, and compensate you as much as possible for the tremendous pain, the mental anguish, the losses you beloved spouse is suffering while you are in the hospital recovering from such devastating injuries.

Economic damages from car accidents and other personal injuries

Damages in personal injury cases fall under two broad categories: economic and non-economic. Economic damages are expenses that can be quantified regarding your injuries. Examples of economic damages include the following:

• Medical expenses. This covers the medical expenses that you are incurring now related to the injuries from the accident, future medical costs, rehabilitation, and any kind of additional care you might require such as the services of a home health care nurse, medications, medical devices such as a wheelchair, a hospital bed at home, etc.
• Lost income. This includes the salary you are losing while you are out of work with your injuries, and it can also include diminished earning capacity, if you will not recover from your injuries enough to be able to go back to your old job.
• Property damage. Expenses related to the accident that are quantifiable are added up and then a final number is determined for your economic damages.

Non-economic damages

Not nearly as easy to calculate, non-economic are intangible and include things such as:

• Pain and suffering
• Emotional distress
• Disfigurement
• Disability
• Loss of the enjoyment of life

Because you cannot tally up a stack of bills, or estimate the future costs of these things, coming to a number for non-economic damages can be quite challenging. While some people think that there is some kind of formula that multiplies the economic damages by two or three or more times depending on the severity of the injury, but that is not necessarily a standard that is used in all personal injury cases.

A skilled Seaford, Newark or Wilmington personal injury attorney from our firm will be able to consider the facts of your case, the severity of your injuries, whether you will have a permanent disability, any diminished earning capacity, how the injury will have an impact on your marriage, your duties as a parent, etc.

For a strong legal advocate when you have been injured, please call Silverman, McDonald & Friedman at 302-888-2900 or complete our contact form to make a free appointment. We have conveniently located offices in Wilmington, Newark and Seaford.