Determining Compensation for a Soft-Tissue Injury

Jurors on soft tissue injury jury trials tell me how hard it is to decide on the right number for damages. In a soft tissue case, like a whiplash neck injury or a strained back from a low impact car collision, the injury can be very painful and disabling in the beginning, but usually is much better within about two to six months. The effects of the arthritic damage will not become obvious until years later.

Bell County jurors want to be fair. They want to make the careless party accept responsibility for the damage caused by his/her carelessness, but jurors do not want to let someone take advantage of a relatively minor collision by getting too much. The question is how to be responsible citizens and balance the duty to compensate the injured for what they have lost/suffered with the desire to find only the amount deserved or needed.

As a lawyer who has seen hundreds of soft tissue injury cases in over 33 years, here is a method to estimate a fair verdict to compensate the honestly injured without exceeding the insurance of the responsible party (auto insurance is mandatory in Texas, so every lawsuit for an auto collision is really a lawsuit against the responsible party=s insurance company). First, calculate the amount of medical expense needed to treat the injury. Second, multiply that number by 3. Third, add in the actual lost wages, if any.

Example: Rear end collision with $1,500 in medical expense and $2,500 in chiropractor or physical therapy expense, for a total of $4,000 in treatment expenses, plus 5 days of lost wages at $150 per day, primarily for treatment visits. Under this formula the jury verdict should total about $12,750. ($4,000 treatment x 3 = 12,000 + 750 lost income = $12,750).

Out of any injury verdict in Texas the treatment providers or the health insurance carriers get paid first. Second, the lawyer will get his attorney fees, usually 1/3, plus trial expenses (all of the responsible party’s expenses and attorney fees are paid by his/her insurance company, the injured party must pay his/her own). After all these expenses, the injured person would get about 1/4 of this verdict for his/her temporary disability, pain and suffering, mental anguish, and inconvenience. With a verdict smaller than this, the injured party can end up with nothing or even in debt. CAUTION: This estimation formula is too small for permanent injuries or death.

One of the primary causes of bankruptcy is unexpected medical expense.