Jensen Beach Boating Accident Lawyers
If you live in Florida, chances are you have a boat or at least know someone who does. And if neither of those apply, you probably still think about renting a vessel on occasion so you can take the whole family out on the water.
Boating is a popular pastime in the Sunshine State, but it's not without risk. In 2017 alone, the Coast Guard recorded more than 4,000 boating accidents that resulted in 658 fatalities and 2,629 injuries.
If you or someone you love was hurt in a boating accident through no fault of your own, your family may be entitled to compensation for the resulting damages. To determine if you have grounds for a claim, contact Donaldson & Weston.
Our personal injury lawyers have helped hundreds of clients in wrongful death and personal injury cases. Call 772-266-5555 to schedule a free consultation with a boating accident lawyer in Jensen Beach.
Boating is a popular pastime in the Sunshine State, but it's not without risk. In 2017 alone, the Coast Guard recorded more than 4,000 boating accidents that resulted in 658 fatalities and 2,629 injuries.
If you or someone you love was hurt in a boating accident through no fault of your own, your family may be entitled to compensation for the resulting damages. To determine if you have grounds for a claim, contact Donaldson & Weston.
Our personal injury lawyers have helped hundreds of clients in wrongful death and personal injury cases. Call 772-266-5555 to schedule a free consultation with a boating accident lawyer in Jensen Beach.
How to Calculate Pain and Suffering Damages
When you get hurt in a boating accident, you incur so much more than just medical expenses and lost wages. Serious injuries also cause non-economic damages like physical pain, emotional suffering, and mental anguish.
Since pain and suffering are not tangible, though, quantifying them can be challenging. Unlike hospital bills and missed income, they have no accompanying receipts or records. And while photographs of visible wounds can illustrate the pain you are experiencing and journal entries can detail your emotional suffering, calculating a reasonable figure for such damages and then proving them is complicated.
There are two widely accepted formulas for determining pain and suffering damages. The first method is known as the "per diem" method.
This approach assigns a figure to your daily suffering and then multiplies it by the number of days you spend recovering. For example, if you choose to use $175 as the daily figure and it takes you six months to reach maximum medical improvement, you would multiply $175 by 180 days, which would produce a pain and suffering value of $31,500.
The second method is called the "multiplier" method. To apply this approach, you must first total all the economic damages you have incurred such as medical expenses, lost wages, and property damage. Then, simply multiply this figure by a factor of between 1.5 and 5. More severe injuries will warrant a higher multiplier, like 4 or 5, while less serious injuries that do not cause any permanent scarring or disability may call for a factor of 1.5 or 2.
Regardless of which approach you use, though, it's important to remember you are not guaranteed to recover the amount that you deem fair. The figure you arrive at when applying either method will simply provide a starting point for the negotiations.
Since pain and suffering are not tangible, though, quantifying them can be challenging. Unlike hospital bills and missed income, they have no accompanying receipts or records. And while photographs of visible wounds can illustrate the pain you are experiencing and journal entries can detail your emotional suffering, calculating a reasonable figure for such damages and then proving them is complicated.
There are two widely accepted formulas for determining pain and suffering damages. The first method is known as the "per diem" method.
This approach assigns a figure to your daily suffering and then multiplies it by the number of days you spend recovering. For example, if you choose to use $175 as the daily figure and it takes you six months to reach maximum medical improvement, you would multiply $175 by 180 days, which would produce a pain and suffering value of $31,500.
The second method is called the "multiplier" method. To apply this approach, you must first total all the economic damages you have incurred such as medical expenses, lost wages, and property damage. Then, simply multiply this figure by a factor of between 1.5 and 5. More severe injuries will warrant a higher multiplier, like 4 or 5, while less serious injuries that do not cause any permanent scarring or disability may call for a factor of 1.5 or 2.
Regardless of which approach you use, though, it's important to remember you are not guaranteed to recover the amount that you deem fair. The figure you arrive at when applying either method will simply provide a starting point for the negotiations.
