Elements of Medical Special Damages and Your Multiplier

Medical special damages are post-accident losses that relate directly to your health. These damages are critical for many accident victims because they determine how fast and thoroughly you regain your health after an accident. Medical special damages also affect other damages related to the claim.

Below are some of the ways medical special damages affect general damages.

Level of Pain

Pain and suffering play a significant role in the determination of special damages. The more pain your injury causes, the higher the damages will be. Thus, the onus is on you to prove that your injury has caused you significant pain. You can do this by:

• Using your medical records - Higher medical bills mean more injuries that cause serious pain.
• Using expert testimony - A medical professional can testify why they think your injuries are likely to cause intense pain.
• Using pictures of your injuries - Pictures that show catastrophic injuries convey the likelihood of intense pain. 

In most cases, obvious pain triggers greater damages than hidden pain.

Nature of Medical Treatment

Some aspects of your medical treatment will affect your special damages more than others. Below are a couple of these aspects.

1. The Treatment's Invasiveness

An invasive medical procedure involves some breakage of body tissues. The more tissue damage that occurs, the more invasive a procedure is. Invasive procedures carry more risks than noninvasive procedures. Thus, healthcare providers restrict invasive procedures to serious injuries without alternative treatments.

2. The Treatment Provider

The provider of your treatment can also make a difference for your special damages. For instance, treatment by a medical doctor shows that the injury is more serious than injury treatment by a non-medical doctor, such as a chiropractor.

The Obviousness of Medical Evidence

Obvious medical injury leads to a high multiplier. Thus, the level of medical evidence at your disposal matters. For example, you may get a high multiplier if:

• Your injury is clearly visible - an example of this is an amputation that everyone can see
• All healthcare professionals, including the first responders, the emergency room (ER) team, and your doctors agree on your injuries
• You have pictures of your injuries immediately after the accident
• You have reached your maximum medical improvement (MMI), but you haven't completely healed
• You have an obvious disability; for example, you are using a wheelchair due to a spinal injury
• 
  

In such cases, even the defense might not mount a spirited defense to defend your injuries.

Recovery Period

Accident victims with critical injuries often take a long time to recover. Because of this, a lengthy recovery period also leads to a higher multiplier. The rationale is that the longer your injury period is, the more the injury will affect your life.

Consider a comminuted fracture (with multiple bone separations) and a stable fracture (with no bone separation). The bone separations mean a comminuted fracture usually takes a longer time to heal than a stable fracture. The lengthy recovery period for the comminuted fracture easily gives rise to a high multiplier.

Injury Permanency

Not every accident injury eventually heals as some accidents cause permanent injuries. For example, an accident might leave you:

• With permanent paralysis
• With a missing body part due to limb amputation 
• With a missing sense, such as loss of eyesight

In such a case, your accident will affect you for the rest of your life. For physical and emotional damages that this can cause, you deserve a high multiplier to increase your general damages.

As you can see, determining the value of an accident case might not be easy for an average person. Luckily, Wegner & Associates has the skills and experience to handle all aspects of an accident claim. Contact us for a free initial consultation to help you determine the settlement you deserve.