A catastrophic injury incurs more costs than common injuries. This means that the compensation possible for catastrophic injuries is probably higher than for common injuries. Knowing the potential reimbursement you can receive helps you plan to ensure that various bills are promptly and adequately paid. This article explains the compensation options for catastrophic injuries in Florida. 

Recoverable Damages in Catastrophic Injuries

Victims that suffer catastrophic injuries can recover both compensatory and punitive damages. Compensatory damages are awarded for making the injured party "financially whole" like they were before the accident as close as possible. Under compensatory damages, there are two types of damages. This includes the economic and the non-economic damages.

Economic damages refer to losses that cost money and have pretty clear-cut pricing that is easy to calculate. Non-economic damages refer to damages that are not easy to calculate since they do not have clear-cut pricing.

On the other hand, punitive damages are different from compensatory damages. They refer to payments made by perpetrators as a means of punishment for their wrongful actions that led to catastrophic injuries.  Punitive damages are neither economic nor non-economic since they don't intend to compensate for a loss.

Since you understand the recoverable damages in catastrophic injuries, now let's look at these damages in detail.

Medical Expenses

Medical expenses refer to all treatment costs incurred in the past, present, and future. It includes every aspect of medical treatment or intervention to a victim, including emergency care, diagnosis, medication, surgeries, and rehabilitative care.

Income Loss

Income loss or damages refers to compensation for wages you've lost due to the catastrophic injuries you've suffered. Income loss can be permanent or temporary, depending on whether you can regain your working ability in the future. Sometimes, the victim's earning capacity is lost due to catastrophic injuries, which still counts as income loss.

Property Loss

Property loss refers to reimbursement for clothing, vehicles, and other personal damages lost due to a particular accident.

Legal Fees

Legal fees refer to expenses associated with filing lawsuits. This includes lawyer fees, travel costs, missed time at work, and so on.

Pain and Suffering

Pain and suffering are the most common type of non-economic recoverable injuries. It refers to severe discomfort or suffering that arises after an accident. It also includes ongoing pain that a victim suffers due to an accident.

Emotional Distress

Emotional distress refers to psychological trauma from an injury that a victim suffers after an accident. It includes various symptoms like fear, anxiety, and loss of sleep.

Loss of Enjoyment

Injuries from an accident can easily lead to the loss of the ability to enjoy hobbies and daily activities.

Physical Impairment or Disfigurement

Sometimes physical impairment or disfigurement are classified as a damage category by itself. It refers to different injuries like paralysis, brain damage, and visible scars. The compensable amount depends on the nature, length, and extent of the injury.

Apart from the recoverable damages mentioned above, surviving family members can be compensated for their damages. The type of damage that they recover is referred to as wrongful death damages. Common types of wrongful death damages include the following:

  • Funeral expenses.
  • Cost of pre-death treatment.
  • Loss of service and support.
  • Loss of consortium and companionship.
  • Emotional distress suffered by the surviving family member or loved one.

How Compensation is Determined in Florida Catastrophic Injuries

Florida is a pure comparative negligence state. Under this rule, injured parties are allowed to collect damages that are proportional to their percentage fault. For instance, if you were found to be 60% at fault for distracted driving and another person was found to be 40% of the damage, you will be eligible for 40% of the total compensation amount.

The principle of determining how much you should be compensated relies on several factors. These factors include using negligence, proving "negligence per se, proving intentional conduct," and proving that the lawsuit should be determined through a standard liability standard of proof.

Most injury claims arise when there are one or two parties that acted negligently. Negligence occurs when someone does something way below reasonable care, causing harm to other people. This brings several legal elements that you must prove. These elements include:

  • Duty of Care: Duty of care is a legal obligation that defendants have on the plaintiff. For instance, a truck driver is responsible for everyone else using the road.
  • Breach of Duty of Care: Plaintiffs must prove that defendants breach duty through a negligent action. For instance, when motorists look down at their phones while driving, this becomes a breach of duty.
  • Causation: While proving this element, plaintiffs must prove that the accused’s negligence or breach of duty is a direct cause of the harm or injuries incurred.
  • Damages: While proving this element, you must prove that they incurred damages due to the incident or injuries. Damages include lost income, medical bills, and suffering.

The No-Fault Car Insurance Policy in Florida Catastrophic Injury Compensation 

Florida is one of the states that has a no-fault car insurance policy. In this policy, your insurance coverage, known as personal injury protection, pays for all financial expenses covered under your policy, whether you were at fault for the accident or not. However, the no-fault claim does not compensate for pain and suffering and other non-monetary damages. 

To step out from the no-fault compensation system, the injuries you suffer must meet the state's threshold, which is the case of catastrophic injuries. When defining severe injuries, you must have experienced any of the following:

  • Significant disfigurement.
  • Bone fracture.
  • A significant limitation of your body organ.
  • A total or partial disability that lasts for at least 90 days.

 For injuries that meet this definition, you aren't limited to making a PIP claim under your policy. It allows you to hold the faulty driver responsible for the accident via a personal injury lawsuit or third-party car insurance. With this, you can pursue non-economic losses like pain and suffering, emotional distress, and loss of consortium. 

Calculating Damages in Catastrophic Injuries

Unfortunately, no specific method or formula is used to determine the amount you should be compensated after suffering an injury. Instead, attorneys and victims used the actual expenses and particular strategies to determine the amount needed for compensation for non-economic damages. Ideally, there are three separate numbers used to make these calculations. This includes special damages, special medical damages, and general damages.

Special damages are easy to calculate since they include clear-cut damages like lost wages, medical bills, and other expenses incurred due to your injury. You can also calculate your lost future earnings if you could've been promoted to a higher position or when you have to move to a lesser-paying job.

Medical special damages include all forms of expenses incurred in your treatment. This includes payments made in your doctor's visit, ambulances, x-rays, surgeries, and other medical interventions. You have to be accurate with your special medical damages since you may be limited to the amount paid by the insurance provider.

Once you have calculated your special and medical special damages, you can now determine your general damages. General damages are usually non-economic injuries like anxiety, loss of consortium, anxiety, and so on. There is no specific law that dictates how you can calculate your non-monetary damages. Still, the amount is determined by various factors like the amount of pain you experience, the severity of the injuries, length of your recovery, and disruption of your everyday life.

To achieve a reasonable starting number to negotiate general damages, most insurance companies and attorneys use the multiplier method. In this method, your attorney uses a multiplier factor between 1 to 5, depending on the severity of the injury. Naturally, the multiplier factor used for catastrophic injuries is expected to be relatively high.

Temporary Partial and Partial Disability Benefits in Florida Catastrophic Injury Compensation

Under Florida's workers' compensation system, severely injured workers can benefit from two types of wage replacement policies. These two types of wage replacement policies include temporary disability benefits and permanent disability benefits.

Temporary Disability Benefits

Under the Florida workers' comp, you are eligible for a temporary total disability benefit if you need to be given time to recover from work-related injuries or illnesses. Victims are eligible for this benefit only if they can’t work for at least 21 days.  

These benefits include two-thirds of the victim’s pre-injury average weekly wages. For some serious injuries like blindness or paralysis, the benefit is much higher. The legal minimum is $20 per week for 80% of the victim’s pre-injury weekly wages.

The temporary total disability benefits continue until any of the following events happen:

  • Your doctor recommends you return to work.
  • Your doctor recommends that your condition can’t improve even after further medical intervention.
  • You've reached the maximum timeline allowed for the benefit.

Permanent Total Impairment Benefit

For permanent disabilities that keep you from working, you’ll be eligible to receive permanent total disability work. Temporary benefits are at the same rate as your temporary disability benefit. The benefit usually lasts until you attain 75 years or a lifetime if you don’t receive Social Security benefits. 

There are additional benefits that a severely injured worker can receive other than the temporary or permanent impairment benefits. This includes medical benefits, vocational rehabilitation, and death benefits. 

Maximizing Your Compensation Benefits

The goal of hiring a personal injury attorney is to maximize your benefits. As both of you work out to iron the details of your case, you might be left wondering how you would maximize your compensation benefits. Here are a few steps that you can consider.

Keep a Record of Everything

You can’t make a compensation claim without enough evidence. The best thing to do is preserve as much as possible from the scene, including photographs you took immediately after the accident. If there were witnesses involved, take their names and other useful information as soon as possible.

Visit a Doctor 

Typically, you’ll have to visit a doctor if you have suffered catastrophic injuries from an accident. Even so, you must take the initiative of ensuring that everything from your treatment is in place. This includes your treatment receipts, medication receipts, your treatment plans, physical therapy recommendations, and doctor’s note. Please note that it’s recommendable to visit a doctor for a checkup even when you don’t have any physical concerns.

Act Quickly

Once you are involved in a catastrophic accident, it’s understandable that you have a lot on your mind. You might ignore the need to find an attorney, seeing a doctor, and collecting vital records.

It’s necessary to act on these steps as quickly as you can. Failure to do so, you might find yourself running out of time if Florida’s four-year statute of limitation passes on.

Don’t Rush To Take an Offer

Are you wondering how you’d win a personal injury claim? Well, holding out, especially when you start receiving settlement offers, is the solution.

You probably expect to be compensated as soon as possible, especially if you haven’t been working and you would like to have everything back to normal. This might tempt you to accept the first or second offer that comes along. Doing so might cut you short and probably have better compensation.

Instead, rely on your attorney’s counsel. They will steer you in the right direction of a solid offer and help you achieve the maximum compensation available.

Evaluate Your Damages Fully

Most probably, the type of damages you’re experiencing is not the only damages you can be compensated. There might be other additional damages like emotional turmoil, PTSD, or anxiety, which are unseen.

That’s why you should consider all the myriad damages that you’ve incurred while filing a compensation claim. Hiring a personal injury attorney is a suitable option since it helps you review your case and uncover other categories of your damages that you might have ignored.

Find a Jacksonville Personal Injury Attorney Near Me

If you or your loved one has been seriously injured, at the Jacksonville Personal Injury Attorney, we could help chase your compensation. We have assisted countless clients in Jacksonville and its neighborhood to get the benefits they need or deserve. Let our legal team help do the same for you by calling us at 904-800-7557 and schedule a free consultation.