When pursuing compensation for medical malpractice in the Tampa Bay area, many people wonder if a victim’s age influences the case’s value. The straightforward answer is “yes,” age is a significant factor.
However, age does not affect your fundamental right to file the claim itself. Instead, it primarily affects the calculation of your damages. Accurately assessing life expectancy and earning potential is vital for determining the total compensation available.
Economic damages: Current and future losses
In medical malpractice cases, compensation often aims to cover all your financial losses. For younger victims who suffer permanent injury, age often results in higher economic awards because they can lose decades of future potential income and employment benefits. Actuaries calculate the value of this extensive loss of future earning capacity, including:
- Lost past wages
- Loss of future earning capacity
- Lost employment benefits
- Future medical care costs
Retired or older victims generally cannot claim damages for the loss of future earning capacity. However, if they sustain catastrophic injuries, they may still claim substantial damages for future medical care and assisted living costs. Skilled lawyers understand how to calculate these costs to last for the remainder of their estimated life expectancy.
Noneconomic damages: Quality of life
Age also plays a significant role in calculating noneconomic damages, a category that addresses subjective losses such as pain, suffering and diminished quality of life. Since compensation should cover the period the injury is expected to affect the victim, a longer life expectancy generally results in higher noneconomic awards.
A young victim is expected to endure the impact of the injury for many more decades than an elderly plaintiff. This impact includes:
- Disability
- Chronic pain
- Loss of life enjoyment
Insurance company attorneys frequently argue that an older victim has suffered for a shorter period, making the legal battle over quantifying these emotional and physical losses particularly complex and challenging.
Florida’s unique compensation rules
Calculating damages is further complicated by Florida laws that often favor insurers. The state has strict age restrictions on who can file for noneconomic damages in medical malpractice wrongful death cases.
For instance, Florida law prohibits adult children over 25 and the parents of a deceased adult child, aged 25 or older, from recovering mental pain and suffering damages in a medical wrongful death case.
While these age-related factors complicate compensation, every victim deserves justice and fair value for their losses. Due to complex damage calculations and statutory restrictions, seeking skilled legal representation is essential to accurately value losses and aggressively pursue your claim.