Calculating Pain & Suffering:

The law provides for two forms of damages in most bicycle injury cases – Economic and Non- Economic damages. These damages equal justice.

Economic Damages are hard losses like medical bills, and lost wages; whereas Non Economic damages are for pain, suffering, fear, anxiety, distress, discomfort and change of lifestyle.

A good way to test damages is to informally present an “anchor” valve to a focus group or mock trial of 12 ordinary persons coordinated by your attorney. Then, let them tell you the case range values.

A few factors most jurors consider in evaluating an award of damages are the following:

Credibility – If the jury finds you credible they will give you a fair damage verdict. If not, even if you’re right, they will find against you. So, always tell the truth – even little inconsistencies in the medical records or deposition can hurt you.

Likeability – This usually involves personality, appearance, demeanor, attitude and your motivation to get better. If you’re liked, your case is worth more.

Joy – Here you can express your passion for cycling. True passion is sensed by jurors – it’s like true love. So, instead of explaining how much you hurt, talk about your passion, as jurors feel more comfortable hearing these examples rather than complaints or pain.

Lifestyle – You can explain this with graphs of your “before and after” crash workout history.

Cooberation – This is where you have friends testify how you and your lifestyle changed. Jurors add a lot of weight to the testimony of neutral “character” witnesses – especially because they are a reflection of who you are and it helps jurors judge your damages.

In Conclusion:

The insurance industry has taken a financial beating in the stock market, post 9/11, and due to the pre-war economic climate.

So, the insurance industry is denying and low balling valid injury claims – in hopes of saving money. Remember this when you sit on a jury and the defense attorney tries to devalue an injury victim’s claim. So, protect your injury case by reviewing my web site articles, as well as documenting your damages to maximize the full and fair value of your case.

This web site is designed for general information only. The information presented at this site should not be construed to be formal legal advice nor the formation of a lawyer/client relationship. Persons accessing this site are encouraged to seek independent counsel for advice regarding their individual legal issues.