Personal Injury Damages Pt 1

The point of damages in tort actions is to make the injured person whole. The person is made hole through the award of money to compensate for injuries caused by the accident or incident. This article and a subsequent one will discuss damages established in a tort claim.

There are a number of damages that can be claimed for in a tort claim in order to make the injured party whole. These damages include the following:

Damages for injuries to personal property

The damages measure for personal property injury is the difference between the market value immediately before and after the injury. If the property is destroyed, then the measure is the fair market value of the item. At times the measure may also be the cost of repair. However, the cost of repair cannot exceed the fair market value of the property. If it’s does exceed the fair market value this is an economic waste.

Damages for losses to real estate (land)

The damages measure for permanent real estate injury is the difference in the fair market value before and after injury. If the damage is only temporary, damages represent the reasonable cost of repairing the property. This may include the value of the use of the property during the period of recovery. Or it may include the diminishing in the rental value of the property.

Lost earnings

Loss of future earnings must be proved by way of reasonable certainty. This requires evidence of:

1. The amount of wages lost for a determinable period of time, and
2. The future period over which wages will be lost or diminished

The measure of damages for a weight loss is the gross amount of wages. Therefore, deductions such as social security, retirement contribution, may not be used to reduce the plaintiff’s recovery for lost wages.

For legal advice on potential damages in your personal injury case speak to a personal injury attorney at the Vinson Law Office today.