It is impossible to determine exactly how much a slip and fall case is worth in Pennsylvania without investigating your losses and how your injuries have affected and will continue to affect you.
Factors That Affect Your Case’s Worth in Pennsylvania
The value of your slip and fall case can vary quite a bit based on several factors, including:
- Your injury’s severity and prognosis
- How your injuries occurred
- Who the responsible parties are
- Whether you contributed to your injuries
For a better understanding of what your slip and fall case is worth, you should sit down with our Bucks County personal injury lawyer who can review the details of your injury and let you know what damages you might be eligible to receive. For a free consultation with a member of the Cordisco & Saile LLC team, call our office today at 215-642-2335.
Damages You Can Recover in a Pennsylvania Slip and Fall Case
You could be eligible to recover several forms of damages for your slip and fall injuries. These damages typically fit into three categories:
- Economic damages
- Noneconomic damages
- Punitive damages
Economic and noneconomic damages are both types of compensatory or “actual” damages. They are called this because they compensate you for the losses you suffered because of your injury. The difference between the two is that economic losses involve actual financial depletion, while noneconomic damages do not.
On the other hand, punitive damages do not compensate you for losses. Instead, they award you with damages to punish the responsible party for their bad behavior.
Economic Damages
Economic damages pay you for actual financial losses you suffered because of your injury. For an easy way to determine if a loss is economic or noneconomic, ask yourself if it involves a bill or a check. For instance, medical expenses are financial losses because you receive a bill for them. Similarly, missed work is an economic loss because it involves paychecks you do not receive.
Some of the most common compensable economic damages are as follows:
- Current and anticipated future medical costs;
- Lost wages;
- Reduced earning capacity;
- Emergency transportation costs;
- Prescription drug costs.
Noneconomic Damages
Noneconomic damages also compensate you for losses suffered because of your injury. The difference is, these losses do not involve actual financial depletion which means they do not have a specific dollar amount.
Noneconomic damages include the following:
- Pain and suffering;
- Emotional anguish;
- Loss of enjoyment of life;
- Loss of consortium;
- Scarring and disfigurement.
Punitive Damages
Punitive damages consist of money you might be eligible to receive on top of your compensatory damages, but only in certain situations. Specifically, Pennsylvania law requires that the responsible party’s actions be “outrageous” for the injured party to receive punitive damages. Outrageous conduct refers to that which is malicious or grossly negligent.
How Much Compensation You Can Receive for Each Type of Damages
Pennsylvania does not cap the damages you are eligible to receive in a slip and fall injury case. Rare exceptions to this rule exist when the responsible party is a state or local government entity. Your slip and fall lawyer can discuss these exceptions with you if they apply to your case.
The following explains how much money you can recover in your slip and fall case.
Economic Damages
For economic damages, calculating your total compensation is straightforward. You are eligible to receive from the responsible party and their insurer the exact amount of compensation that covers your total financial losses.
For instance, if your medical bills were $50,000, you lost $20,000 in salary from missed work, and you had other assorted injury-related costs of $10,000, your economic damages would come to $80,000.
Noneconomic Damages
Since noneconomic damages are more subjective, there is more room for argument over how much they are worth. Your lawyer will try to get you the maximum amount, but you can count on the responsible party or its insurer to argue for a lower award.
In Pennsylvania, your lawyer has two ways to calculate noneconomic damages.
- The first is the multiplier method, which involves multiplying your economic damages by a number between one and five. The more severe your injuries, the higher the multiplier.
- The other method is the per diem method, which awards you a specific dollar amount for each day you spent recovering for your injuries.
Punitive Damages
Like noneconomic damages, punitive damages are subjective. The more egregious the responsible party’s actions, the more money you can receive.
Call Today for a Free Consultation With a Pennsylvania Slip and Fall Lawyer
The Cordisco & Saile LLC team wants to help you recover the full damages you deserve for your slip and fall injury. For a free consultation and case evaluation, call us at 215-642-2335.
