These losses are projected into the future based, among other factors, on medical testimony regarding continuing disability and future needs. The most prominent examples are pain and suffering, mental anguish, inconvenience, physical impairment or disability, disfigurement, and loss of enjoyment of life. The importance of categorizing damages as economic or noneconomic lies in the fact that noneconomic damages are often capped under state law. We often see cases where people's lives are devastated by catastrophic injuries, but if they are children or elderly, economic losses are limited and the capped amount of noneconomic damages is unfairly inadequate. This must be proven by clear and convincing evidence.
Punitive damages are extremely rare, but available in appropriate circumstances.
The ensuing investigation begins with the collection of all pertinent records, including accident reports, product literature, company brochures, and medical records. We ask you to sign releases authorizing us to obtain these records. We then review and analyze the records. If we believe there is a strong possibility that a product was defective, we will submit it to the appropriate experts for review, asking them for their opinions on the issues of the defective nature of the product, damages and causation. If, after consultation with experts, we believe that we can satisfy our burden of proof, we recommend that the case be filed.