Were you injured in an accident in Delray Beach, Florida? You could be entitled to financial compensation for your losses from the negligent party. If someone else’s negligence caused your injuries, they can be responsible for paying economic damages and non-economic damages in your claim. A Delray Beach personal injury lawyer can help.
Economic damages are the “dollars and cents” costs of an accident. Medical bills, lost income due to injury, property damage, out-of-pocket expenses, and other financial losses are included within economic damages. Non-economic damages are the sometimes “unseen” costs of an accident. Emotional distress, pain and suffering, loss of companionship, and other damages are just as serious – if not more so – than economic damages.
When you’ve suffered injuries and losses, including pain and suffering after an accident, you’ll need skilled legal help to collect what you deserve. Below, we’ll talk more about how non-economic damages can apply to your personal injury claim.
What Are Non-Economic Damages?
Non-economic damages are payments made by a defendant to a plaintiff to compensate for intangible losses in a personal injury case. Since accident victims can be injured in ways that are more than just financial, non-economic damages exist to cover those losses. Non-economic damages place dollar amounts on losses that don’t translate easily to monetary figures.
Non-economic damages in a Florida personal injury case can include emotional distress, pain and suffering, reduced enjoyment of life, disability, disfigurement, loss of companionship, and more. To address these damages, it helps to document your struggles after an accident, including any recommended counseling.
After a serious accident, your Delray Beach personal injury lawyer will collect evidence supporting your claim and evaluate the suffering caused by the accident. A skilled personal injury attorney will know how to address your full range of losses from the accident and maximize your potential recovery for non-economic damages.
Types of Non-Economic Damages
Non-economic damages in a personal injury case will depend on the accident and the injuries involved. If the accident was severe, and injuries are long-lasting or permanent, non-economic damages tend to be higher.
Pain and Suffering
Pain and suffering is a general term that includes the physical and mental trauma caused by the negligent acts of another person. Shock, brain damage, depression, fatigue, and other serious effects from an accident can fall under this category. Reports from medical professionals and counselors can be used to help prove pain and suffering in a personal injury case.
Emotional Distress
Going through an accident and its difficult aftermath can cause serious emotional distress. Similar to pain and suffering, emotional distress involves the stress and trauma of dealing with injuries and recovery from an accident.
Disability and Disfigurement
Accidents can cause devastating and catastrophic injuries. Injuries include disfigurement, scarring, burns, loss of limbs, or other lasting bodily damage. When disfigurement and disability are caused by another person’s negligence, those impacts can be addressed through non-economic damages in a personal injury claim.
Reduced Enjoyment of Life
Reduced enjoyment of life refers to an injured victim’s inability to get back to the lifestyle, career, and hobbies they enjoyed before the accident. If an accident victim had certain activities they loved but can no longer do, such as cooking, gardening, or sports – compensation can be obtained for those intangible losses. Experienced personal injury lawyers know how to identify the many ways a victim’s life can be impacted by the accident.
Loss of Consortium
When an accident victim suffers debilitating injuries or even dies due to an accident, the spouse or surviving spouse can seek damages for loss of consortium. This includes the loss of love, companionship, and advice of a close family member. Plaintiffs can obtain non-economic damages for loss of consortium in Florida.
Calculating Non-Economic Damages In Florida
There is no certain way to calculate non-economic damages in every single case. Your lawyer will not be able to tell you exactly what you will collect in non-economic damages at the start of your case. First, the claimant needs to prove the other party was negligent and legally liable for damages. Economic damages can be calculated more easily than non-economic damages in most cases.
Calculating non-economic damages in Florida usually follows different methods.
Common ways to calculate non-economic damages include:
- The Multiplier Method. Under the multiplier method, a victim’s economic damages will be multiplied by anywhere from 1.5 to 5 to arrive at non-economic damages. The multiplier figure can be based on the severity of the injury, length of recovery time, and the permanence of any injuries or disability.
- The Per Diem Method. Under this approach, a daily financial value is assigned to account for pain, suffering, and other non-economic losses. The daily value would then be multiplied by the number of days that a victim suffered hardship before achieving maximum medical improvement as determined by a doctor.
There is currently no cap on non-economic damages under Florida law. To maximize your claim for non-economic damages, you’ll benefit from hiring a personal injury lawyer with proven experience collecting non-economic damages for their clients.
What Is the Deadline to File a Claim for Non-Economic Damages in Florida?
The deadline to file a personal injury claim is known as the statute of limitations. Florida’s statute of limitations is two years in most personal injury cases. Some exceptions can apply. However, it is always best to start your claim sooner rather than later. A Florida personal injury attorney will make sure you meet the filing deadline and all other deadlines in your case.
A Delray Beach Personal Injury Lawyer Can Help You Seek Non-Economic Damages
If you or a loved one were injured in an accident in Delray Beach, Florida, you could be entitled to non-economic damages in a personal injury claim. The dedicated personal injury team at The Injury Law Firm, PA, can help you pursue economic damages and non-economic damages as part of your case. We have proven experience collecting non-economic damages for injured Florida clients. Contact our law office today at (561) 800-4357 to schedule a free case evaluation.
