After a serious offshore accident, one of the most immediate and critical questions is, “What is my case actually worth?” The legal term for what you can recover is “damages,” but this concept is far more complex than a single number. It involves a detailed accounting of every loss—financial, physical, and emotional.
To provide clarity on this crucial topic, LKSA attorney Beth Abramson breaks down the different types of damages available in a maritime injury claim.
This video explains the difference between economic and non-economic losses, the vital role of a life care plan in catastrophic injury cases, and how experienced attorneys use experts to calculate the full and fair compensation you are owed.
Watch the video below to learn more:
Video Transcript
Beth: “For those injured on the water, damages include what the injured person can recover. It can include both economic damages as well as non-economic damages. Economic damages include such things as medical expenses and lost wages. Those are things that can be calculated with specificity.
Damages also include non-economic damages, which cannot be calculated with specificity such as physical pain and suffering, mental pain and suffering, loss of enjoyment of life, scarring disability. Those types of damages cannot be specifically calculated.
Life care plans are specialized documents that are created by professionals such as vocational rehabilitation experts, in coordination with life care plan specialists, and treating physicians. And what those documents do is they put together a plan of long-term needs that an injured person may need their long-term medical needs.
These life care plans are extremely important for these catastrophic injuries where persons have been severely injured and will suffer lifelong medical needs.
When calculating economic damages in particular, you need the right types of experts and we call those economists. And in order to calculate those damages, what we do as your attorneys, is we collect and obtain information from your work history, your background and education, your tax returns, pay stubs.
And we find out what your work history has been and what your earnings have been in the past so that we calculate not only your past loss wages that you may have incurred as a result of your injury, but also so that we can calculate your future loss wages, assuming you can’t go back to work doing the same type of work you were doing and earning the same types of wages you were earning.
And so we give all of that information to our economists who you need as specialized experts to calculate those specific types of damages.”
Key Takeaways on Maritime Damages
As Beth explains in the video, securing fair compensation requires a thorough approach. Remember these key points:
- There Are Two Types of Damages:
- Economic Damages: Tangible losses that can be calculated, such as past and future medical bills and lost wages.
- Non-Economic Damages: Intangible losses that don’t have a specific price tag, such as pain and suffering, loss of enjoyment of life, and disability.
- Life Care Plans Are Crucial for Serious Injuries: For catastrophic injuries, a life care plan prepared by experts is essential to calculate all future medical needs to ensure your lifelong care is fully funded. (Learn exactly what a life care plan includes in our comprehensive guide)
- Experts Are Required: Calculating future lost wages and long-term medical costs is not guesswork. It requires specialized economists and other experts to build a comprehensive and defensible claim.
- Your Recovery Depends on a Detailed Assessment: The goal is to account for every single way the injury has impacted your life. This detailed approach is critical to maximizing your recovery.
Don’t Settle for Less Than You Deserve
Insurance companies often pressure injured workers into accepting quick, lowball settlements that fail to account for the full, long-term impact of an injury. Understanding the true value of your claim is the first and most important step in protecting your future. The difference between a fair recovery and an inadequate one lies in the details, the expert analysis, and the legal experience required to hold defendants accountable.
The attorneys at LKSA have the resources and knowledge to build a comprehensive damages model for the most complex maritime law cases.
If you or a loved one has been seriously injured offshore, contact our experienced maritime attorneys today. We will evaluate your case and explain your rights. Call us at (504) 588-1500 or fill out our confidential contact form.
