Calculating Chattanooga car accident damages can be a complicated process dependent upon many specific factors in an individual’s case. While this may feel overwhelming to face alone, know that a car accident lawyer has the ability to help give you an idea of what to expect, and how to potentially overcome damage cap obstacles. Read the below information to learn more about calculating Chattanooga car accident damages, as well as the benefits of calling a seasoned collision attorney early on in your case.
How Are Non-Economic Damages Calculated and Who Calculates the Damage Award?
The damage award for non-economic damages in Chattanooga car accidents is usually calculated by the case’s jury. If the individual is entitled to a jury (which in most car collision cases in Tennessee, the individual is), then the jury has the right to decide how much the individual’s non-economic damages are and will decide, based on their life, what they think a fair sum would be to replace what was taken away from that individual in the form of pain and suffering, mental anguish, fear, worry, anxiety, humiliation, or embarrassment.
Typically that amount has to be gauged towards the severity of the impact that the injury had on their life, their ability to live, their ability to continue to make a living, their ability to contribute to their family, and their ability to enjoy life. The amount of time the individual suffered from their injury is also a factor.
Damage Caps on Chattanooga Car Accident Cases
A case’s damage cap is a statutory limit created by the legislature stating that no matter how badly an individual is injured, a jury’s verdict awarding them more money than this cap will not be enforced. So if a jury awards an individual more money than the damage cap allows, the court will only require the defendant to pay the amount of the damage cap.
In Tennessee, the damage cap is typically $750,000 for non-economic damages. There are no caps on economic damages. For particularly catastrophic cases, the damage cap goes up to $1 million, but never higher than $1 million.
Know that there are ways to potentially circumvent the caps on an individual’s non-economic damages. One way is to link the case to economic damages, prove lost future income, future medical treatment, and other costs in the future that have not occurred yet. It would take great detail to determine future costs and losses, but an experienced attorney can make sure that nothing gets left out of those numbers. A professional lawyer can also focus on the defendant’s conduct, try to show that the defendant was beyond negligent and acted with intentional disregard for safety, recklessness, or wanton disregard for safety in an attempt to get past the damage cap.
