Motor vehicle accidents or car accidents in South Carolina can cause a lot more than just the medical expenses and lost wages of the involved party. In most cases, the same may result in constant medical attention and hence costly, loss of earnings and a poor quality of life.
Future economic damages are an important element of every personal injury action which guarantees the injured person not only the reimbursement of the realized losses but also the compensation of the potential consequences of the accident.
In this blog post, we will look at what future damages are, how they are estimated, and why they are significant in motor vehicle accident cases in South Carolina.
What Are Future Damages in a Personal Injury Case?
Future losses are the actual losses that a person will incur after the conclusion of a personal injury case because of the residuals of the injuries.
In motor vehicle accident cases, the liability of severe impairment may not be over once the case has been closed – victims will have to go through many more treatments, physical restrictions, and financial struggles in the future.
Future damages are intended to make accident victims whole by providing for such expected losses that are bound to occur at some time in the future. Common types of future damages include:
Future medical expenses
These include the cost of ongoing medical care, surgeries, therapy, and rehabilitation.
Wage loss in the future and the reduced earning capacity
Wages and salaries are not earned because of a disability that prevents one from working or that renders one unable to work at all.
Pain and suffering
Recovery from suffering and shock that the accident has occasioned and continuous physical pain.
Loss of enjoyment of life
Compensations are given for loss of capacity to engage in activities that were formerly pleasurable.
In South Carolina, an award of future damages guarantees that the victims of personal injury do not go unpaid and have the capacity to meet their day-to-day needs as they heal.
Types of Future Medical Expenses
Medical costs that are likely to be incurred in the future are among the largest elements of future damages in personal injury.
In a motor vehicle accident, the victims may need treatment that may continue even after the time of the compensation or after the court has ruled in favor of the client.
They can, however, be significant, particularly in circumstances where the injury is serious or permanent.
Common types of future medical expenses include:
Surgeries and Hospitalization
Where the injury entails a future surgery or a longer hospital stay, the expenses pile up after some time. Future medical care must therefore be justified by the medical evidence of necessity.
Physical Rehabilitation and Physical Therapy
Some of the patients may need long-term treatment, for example, physiotherapy,
occupational therapy, or speech therapy in case they do not recover completely.
Chronic Pain Control and Other Continuing Therapies
Certain types of injuries cause pain that persists and needs to be addressed for the rest of the person’s life using drugs, injections, or other treatments.
Aids and Adaptations
In more severe cases the injured might require wheelchairs, artificial limbs, or even changes to their homes for instance ramps or even bathrooms that are designed for physically challenged people.
Long-Term Care
Severe injuries may require the patient to be in a nurse’s care at home or even to be placed in an assisted living facility.
In South Carolina, future medical bills are recoverable damage, but the necessity of future medical treatment should be proved by expert medical witnesses.
These expert witnesses are to assess the extent of the injury, the chances of developing complications in the future, and the estimated cost of treatment, to ensure that the plaintiff gets fair compensation to cater to his future needs.
Pain and Suffering in the Future
Pain and suffering in the future refer to the physical and emotional suffering an accident victim will experience after a case is closed.
It will be seen that although past economic losses such as medical expenses and lost wages are quantifiable to some extent, future pain and suffering are less concrete but no less important.
South Carolina law permits the victims of motor vehicle accidents to recover from the continuing consequences of the injury, whether physical or mental.
Physical Pain
Some of the motor vehicle accidents may result in chronic pain that persists for years and even a lifetime.
For instance, a victim who has suffered from back or neck injuries might still feel a constant pain that affects them and limits their ability to go through their normal day.
Emotional Distress
After having been involved in an accident, one may endure physical suffering, but the emotional and psychological suffering may endure much longer.
Symptoms of such diseases as anxiety, depression, or PTSD are quite normal after a serious accident. As a result of the injury, treatment and rehabilitation take a long time and survivors often develop mental complications that need medical attention.
Impact on Daily Life
Future general and special damages also consider the degree of loss of life’s pleasures due to the injury.
For example, a person who once had an active lifestyle may be unable to engage in sports, hobbies, or social activities because of the pain or mechanical disadvantage that the injury has imposed.
Thus you need a valuable personal injury lawyer so you don’t have to go through this incident alone.
Prior Auto Mishaps in South Carolina
The state of South Carolina has witnessed various types of damages, and traffic collision incidents, and most of the victims have suffered from severe outcomes.
Such cases typically raise questions about the use of future damages in the course of the personal injury claim since many victims have to deal with long-term health complications that cost them a lot of money.
In this case, analyzing previous accidents will be useful in determining how future damages feature in actual scenarios.
I-26 Multi-Vehicle Accident, 2020
A multi-car pile-up on the I-26 near Columbia left several people with critical injuries and one man dead. People who were involved in this crash received severe injuries that included fractures, spinal cord injuries, and head injuries.
In such scenarios, most of the claimants need further treatment and/or disability which may entail enormous future medical expenses and loss of earnings.
Since the damages of such crashes often require lifetime care, such personal injury lawsuits usually require the use of experts to estimate the damages.
Charleston Drunk Driving Crash Charleston Post and Courier, 2018
The drunk driving accident in Charleston resulted in the disability of a young woman with brain and spinal cord injuries.
The victim had a disability for life and needed assistive devices and the future damages were therefore a component of her personal injury case.
As such, where the losses are as described above, the courts are faced with the responsibility of assessing future medical expenses together with the effects of the injury on the ability to work or be self-supporting.
Greenville Rear-End Collision – 2019
In this event, a driver was hit from behind while waiting for the traffic light to turn green, with whiplash and back pains.
In the first instance, the medical expenses were not very high, but years later, the victim had to pay for chronic pain and lengthy physical therapy sessions.
The analysis of future damages emerged as a major area of controversy when the victim sued for future medical expenses and loss of earning capacity.
How to Prove Future Damages?
Predicting future damages in a personal injury case presents many challenges and can only be done by a medical and/or economic expert because a little negligence can cause you big harm.
It is also important to note that future damages are not like current expenses where the bills and the receipts of the injured party can suffice in calculating them.
Medical Expert Testimony
Future costs of medical and ongoing care are estimated with the help of medical professionals who assess how bad the injury is, what kind of treatments may be required in the future, and how much they would cost.
These specialists can give estimates for operations, treatments, pills, or lifetime care that the injured person will require in the future.
Economists and Vocationalists
For past and future lost wages and reduced future earning capacity, economists estimate the amount of money the victim would have earned but for the accident. This includes age, job, education, and expected number of working years that the individual has left.
Present Value Calculations
The other aspect that the South Carolina courts use in future damages is the “present value”.
This is exactly what future compensation is brought forward to represent the value that the sum of them will have if received today.
Estimates of Pain and Suffering
Estimating future pain and suffering is relatively more difficult than past suffering; the courts depend on the evidence of medical practitioners, psychologists, and sometimes from the injured person, on how the injury impacts on his or her life in the future.
Life Expectancy Estimates
Proper prognosis is very important when assessing future damages, especially in cases of long-term treatment or loss of earning capacity due to disability.
Judges apply a statistical table and expert evidence to determine how many years the survivor will live with the injuries and the costs and losses they will incur in that time.
Importance of Hiring Our Personal Injury Attorney
Understanding the issues that surround future damages in personal injury, particularly automotive accident cases is quite daunting for the victims.
This is why anyone involved in personal injury litigation in South Carolina should hire a professional personal injury lawyer from our law firm. Here are several reasons why engaging our legal representation is crucial:
Expertise in Personal Injury Law
Max Hyde Law Firm has employed professional attorneys who can explain to clients the laws and regulations of motor vehicle accidents.
We strongly fight for our clients so they are able to get what they are entitled to including future damages.
Accurate Damage Calculations
In this case, our firm assists in determining other damages with the help of medical specialists, economists, as well as vocational ones.
We know what kind of evidence is required to prove claims for future medical expenses, lost earnings, and pain and suffering. This way the claimant is made to cover all possible losses which may arise and the victim gets full compensation.
Negotiation Skills
Most of the personal injury cases involve the parties dealing with the insurance companies. Our lawyers at Max Hyde Law Firm understand how to negotiate for settlements, and we also understand how to present the case to ensure they obtain the best possible amount of compensation.
We know the staking patterns used by insurance companies to delay payment and are ready to match those moves.
Representation in Court
We have skilled lawyers who understand how the courtroom works and present witnesses, provide cross-examination, and conduct compelling arguments for and on behalf of the clients to win the case.
Emotional Support
Motor vehicle accident aftermaths can cause a lot of stress. At Max Hyde Law Firm, we lighten the burden a little bit by handling most of the legal work in the case.
Don’t face this challenging time alone contact Max Hyde law firm today and call us at (864) 804-6330 to schedule a free consultation today. Our experienced lawyers are here to assist you in filing a claim for your future damages in an accident and ensuring you receive the justice you deserve.
