What's Your Injury Case Worth?

Law in Alabama Partially Limits Money You May Receive

In April of 2005, Joan is seriously injured in a car wreck that was not her fault. Her medical bills are around $65,000. Her car is totaled in the wreck. It is worth about $500 after the wreck and had been worth $15,000 before the wreck so her car damage loss is approximately $14,500. Joan suffers about $5,000 in lost wages. The $65,000, $14,500 and $5,000 are added as part of Joan's damages.

Joan's husband Tom suffers loss of consortium or in other word the loss of certain services such as helping around the home, running errands, and so forth that Joan would have done if she had not been injured. It would cost approximately $3,000 to hire someone else to do part of what Joan would have done for Tom if she had not been injured. The value of services someone else would not be hired to provide is negotiable or up to a jury. The $3,000 plus the amount the jury decides or the attorneys negotiate is added to the damages.

Joan has pain and suffering, another part of damages that is negotiable or for a jury to decide. In determining the value of this element of damages some things that may be considered among others are how many times Joan has been to her doctor and physical therapist for treatments for pain and how many times Joan has seen her psychiatrist about anxiety, anguish, stress and worry caused by the wreck. The amount determined by the jury or settlement amount negotiated by the attorneys is added to the damages.

Joan and Tom are entitled to be compensated for all of these losses with money that is called compensatory damages. Compensatory damages compensate plaintiffs for their out of pocket and other actual losses.

In addition Joan may be entitled to punitive damages because the driver of the truck that hit her was speeding and driving drunk on the wrong side of the road. Punitive damages are sums of money awarded to punish the defendant in Joan's case and to act as a deterrent to keep the defendant in Joan's case, and other people from again doing the same and or similar dangerous acts.

Punitive damages help prevent future injuries. They are not awarded in cases of simple negligence but rather where the wrongful act that caused the injury was either done with wantonness, a reckless disregard for the safety of others, or was done intentionally so that there is a need to punish and/or deter the defendant or other possible defendants from injuring other people. Any punitive damages amount determined by the jury or settlement amount negotiated by the attorneys is added to the damages but the amount may be subject to the following described caps.

Alabama has a punitive damages law that went into effect on August 6, 1999. This law does not apply to compensatory damages but sets caps or maximum limits on punitive damages a plaintiff may collect.

There are three exceptions or exemptions to or from Alabama's cap on punitive damages. They are punitive damages in:

(1) Class action suits;

(2) Wrongful death suits; and

(3) Intentional physical injury cases.

Under this law there are three types of punitive damages caps:

(1) For physical injuries not including death, punitive damages are limited to the greater of $1,500,000 or three times the compensatory damages;

(2) For nonphysical injuries, punitive damages are limited to the greater of $500,000 or three times compensatory damages; and

(3) For suits against small businesses worth $2,000,000 or less, punitive damages are limited to or capped at the greater of $50,000 or ten percent of the net value of the defendant.

The new law provides that jurors are not to be told about the caps on punitive damages. If a jury awards more than is allowed by law, the judge will adjust the amount awarded.

As has been the case for a long time, how much the medical bills, property damages, lost wages, damages for pain and suffering and other compensatory damages are, may greatly affect what if any amount the punitive damages are.

Sometimes injured clients try to tough it out and not go to the doctor when they need to do so. If you are an injury victim, do not go for medical care when you do not need to do so, but do get all the care you reasonably need to get as well as possible. Getting as well as possible is important. Cutting back on care you really need may not only hurt you physically, but it may also reduce the amount of money you receive from your suit.

Whether or not a plaintiff may collect what would be a fair amount is in part determined by whether or not the defendant has sufficient insurance and whether or not the plaintiff has under insured/ uninsured insurance. Alabama law requires all Alabama drivers to have a minimal amount of insurance but still about a third of Alabama drivers do not have any insurance.

This discussion only applies to Alabama law. Other states have different laws. Because there are so many variables in individual cases, make sure you discuss these matters with your own individual attorney.

Under Alabama Bar rules I may not discuss your case with you if you already have an attorney on the case, but if you do not, I will be glad to discuss these matters with you. Contact me at 205-520-5030 or at margialfor@aol.com.

There is no charge for the initial phone consultation on injury cases that were not your fault and I do not charge on injury cases that I take until I collect for you.