How are Damages Determined in an Alabama Accident?

If you have suffered serious injuries in a car accident or other type of accident due to the negligent actions of others, you can file a lawsuit for personal injury against the other party. However, Alabama’s statute of limitations requires that you file the claim within two years of the date of the accident. You don’t need to resolve the case before the two-year mark, but you do need to have proper paperwork filed in Court to initiate it.

At the Law Office of Chip Nix we know that you may also wonder how much you might receive in a winning lawsuit and the factors that go into this amswer. As the injured person initiating the lawsuit, it’s up to you to prove that the negligent actions of the other party directly caused your current injuries. Frequently, you can expect the lawyer for the other party to attempt to discredit you to the point where you can’t demonstrate a clear connection. Having an experienced personal injury attorney like Chip Nix representing you means that you don’t have to feel intimidated by this.

Alabama is a Strict Contributory Negligence State

Each state sets its own guidelines regarding whether an accident victim can collect damages if he or she played any role in causing the injuries. Unfortunately, Alabama is extremely strict in this regard. That means you cannot collect any damages if your actions contributed to the accident or your injuries at all, regardless of how minor. This is one more reason why you need a personal injury attorney to prove that the accident happened exactly as you claim it did.

Economic Damages in a Personal Injury Case

If the other party accepts responsibility right away, it’s likely you can settle your case out of court. If not, you will need to go to court to argue for your right to fair compensation. You could potentially receive economic damages, non-economic damages, or both if you win the case. Economic damages reimburse you for actual losses and expenses you have incurred as well as potential losses and expenses in the future. Medical expenses, lost income, and property damage are the most obvious examples of economic damages that you could request from the other party.

Loss of earning capacity is one area of economic damages that can be challenging  to prove. For example, you may suffer chronic back pain from the accident and can no longer work at a job that requires you to stand most of the day. Chip Nix would provide an expert in earning capacity losses to evaluate your claim and to establish the percentage of lost earning capacity based upon your injury.

What Qualifies as Non-Economic Damages?

While economic damages are usually straightforward, that’s not the case with non-economic damages. These describe consequences of the accident that don’t have an economic price tag but are important nonetheless. Pain and suffering is a primary example. It most often describes physical pain, but can also include emotional responses to the accident and your injuries such as anxiety and depression.

Loss of enjoyment of life is another common category of non-economic damage. For example, if you enjoyed intellectual pursuits in which you can no longer participate due to the accident, you could potentially receive payment under this category. Because these are more subjective awards, there is no calculator for these damages. The amount will be left to the discretion of the jury.

You might also receive punitive damages in cases where the defendant acted in complete disregard for your safety. The purpose of punitive damages is to punish the person who caused the accident and to send a clear message to others that the same type of behavior has severe consequences.

How Are Pain & Suffering Damages Calculated in a Personal Injury Case?

Unlike some states, Alabama has no fixed monetary standard that goes to the injured individual to cover pain and suffering from an accident that was not their fault.

Instead, the court will determine how long you have been impacted by pain and suffering and its cost. That’s why it is so important to have organized and calculated every bill associated with the accident, even travel to a doctor, parking costs, medications, physical and mental therapy, and every detail you can think of, including lost wages.  Every detail means the mental toll the accident is taking on you as well.

You may be embarrassed because, for the first time in your life, you’ve needed counseling to figure out why you can’t move on from the accident. Whether it’s guilt, PTSD, depression, anxiety – you keep reliving the accident and what preceded it. Could it have been prevented? This mental suffering takes a toll as well, which must be calculated into your losses.

Courts generally follow these guidelines to calculate pain and suffering. And whether you are adding up the numbers for a jury, a judge, or an insurance adjuster, the methods are the same.

• Per Diem – This represents the per day rate for the pain and suffering you experience every day, doctor’s costs, medication, therapy, etc. Per Diem is often applied to a shorter-term injury from which you are likely to recover.
• Multiplier Method – An experienced personal injury attorney will help you determine whether this means of calculation is best for your case. Again, you add up your economic losses and multiply them by a factor between 1.5 or 5, the latter being for the most significant injury from which you are not expected to recover. Traumatic brain injury might fall into this category.

Regardless of which method you use, both sides will be sure to compare your case against any similar settlement or jury verdicts. Past cases and compensation are a good indicator of what you might expect.

Document Your Pain and Suffering

Proving your case requires recordkeeping, including medical records, treatment plan, and the cost of your treatment, including medication and physical therapy. Include photos of your injury and any documentation of your life before compared to after the accident.

You might start a journal marking it “For my attorney” to jot down all of your thoughts of the day. This may sound excessive, but the brain wants to forget a tragic circumstance over time, and you do not want to omit any detail of the accident’s impact on your life. Your own words will be used to communicate to the judge the emotional toll this has taken on you.

Schedule a Free Consultation with Chip Nix

Fighting the insurance company for the other party can be an intimidating experience, but Chip Nix, Attorney at Law, is on your side. Please contact his law office in Montgomery, Alabama at 334-279-7770 to request your free confidential case review today.