PERSONAL INJURY JURY INSTRUCTIONS
When considering how much to demand for a personal injury, your accident attorney will review the amount of damage that you have incurred, and will continue to incur in the future. Medical bills, lost wages, and future medical bills are examples of the types of damage that is recoverable. Insurance adjusters are not considering the types of instructions levied to the Jury, but attorneys should when contemplating the types of compensation that will or could be awarded.
§ 501.1 Personal Injury and Property Damages
When it is proven during a trial that Defendant is liable for the accident, the Court instructs the Jury write on the verdict form, in dollars, the total amount of loss, injury, or damage which the greater weight of the evidence shows will fairly and adequately compensate him or her for the loss, injury, or damage, including any damages that he or she is reasonably certain to
incur or experience in the future.
In order to adequately compensate the injury party, the Court further provides instructions depending on the types of damages at stake. For example, your Accident Attorney may ask the Court to instruct that “[a]ny resulting pain and suffering, disability, or physical impairment, disfigurement, mental anguish, inconvenience, or loss of capacity for the enjoyment of life experienced in the past, or to be experienced in the future.”[2]
However, the Court will also instruct that there is no exact standard for measuring the damages, but only that the amount should be fair and just in light of the evidence. Insurance companies know that certain cities, such as Miami, lean towards protecting Plaintiffs and the Public at large.
In addition to the types of injuries, insurance companies also consider the potential for comparative negligence, which may occur in all types of personal injuries, including slip & fall injuries. The instructions benefit the Plaintiff in the sense that the Jury is instructed not to reduce the amount of damages due to comparative fault.
Consult with an accident attorney prior to settling with the insurance company. Many times, the experience of your lawyer increases the understanding of not just what your case is worth, but how your case would proceed before a jury of your peers.
* The general information provided does not constitute legal advice and should not be used as a substitute for obtaining legal advice from an attorney. Legal cases are in fact that of persons named in the lawsuit and the mention of an attorney herein generally represent that of the client itself.
