Accurately calculating damages in bicycle accident cases ensures injured cyclists receive fair compensation for all their losses. Understanding the categories of damages and how they are valued helps victims and their attorneys build comprehensive claims.
Economic Damages: Quantifiable Losses
Economic damages compensate for financial losses that can be calculated with specificity. These include:
Medical expenses—all costs of treating accident-related injuries: emergency room visits, hospitalization, surgery, physician care, physical therapy, medications, medical equipment, and ongoing treatment. Future medical costs for anticipated treatment must be projected.
Lost wages—income lost during recovery, including salary, hourly wages, bonuses, commissions, and benefits. Self-employed individuals calculate lost business income.
Lost earning capacity—if injuries permanently reduce ability to work, the difference between pre-accident and post-accident earning potential over the remaining career is compensable.
Property damage—bicycle repair or replacement costs, damaged equipment and gear, and any other property destroyed in the accident.
Non-Economic Damages: Quality of Life Impacts
Non-economic damages compensate for losses without specific dollar values but with profound real-world impact:
Pain and suffering—physical pain from injuries and treatment. This includes both acute pain during recovery and chronic pain from permanent conditions.
Emotional distress—anxiety, depression, PTSD, and other psychological impacts of the accident and injuries.
Loss of enjoyment of life—inability to participate in activities that brought pleasure before the accident, including cycling itself.
Disfigurement—permanent scarring and physical changes affecting appearance.
Loss of consortium—impact on spousal relationship, including companionship and intimacy.
Methods for Calculating Damages
Economic damages are calculated by adding documented expenses and using expert projections for future costs. Medical experts opine on future treatment needs. Economists calculate lost earning capacity using earnings history, career trajectory, and work life expectancy.
Non-economic damages are more subjective. Methods include the multiplier approach—multiplying economic damages by a factor (typically 1.5 to 5) based on injury severity. The per diem approach assigns a daily value to pain and suffering across recovery and permanent impact periods. Comparison to similar cases provides benchmarks.
Expert Witnesses in Damage Calculations
Serious injury claims benefit from expert testimony. Medical experts testify about injury permanence and future treatment needs. Life care planners project lifetime costs for ongoing care. Economists calculate present value of future lost earnings. Vocational experts assess work capacity limitations.
Factors Affecting Damage Amounts
Damage calculations consider injury severity and permanence, the victim's age and life expectancy, pre-accident health and earning level, quality of documentation, comparative fault reducing recovery, and jurisdiction and jury tendencies.
Documenting Your Damages
Keep comprehensive records of all expenses, lost work time, and daily impacts. Maintain a journal describing pain levels, limitations, and emotional effects. Photograph visible injuries throughout healing. Follow all medical recommendations to demonstrate injury severity.
Thorough documentation supports maximum compensation when calculating damages for your bicycle accident claim.