Amputation Injury Lawyer in Chicago

Damages in Amputation Injury Cases

The Illinois Workers’ Compensation and Occupational Diseases Act actually sets a value on certain body parts, expressed as a number of weeks of compensation for each part. In permanent partial disability benefits cases, an amputated body part is considered a 100 percent loss and a victim is awarded the entire number of weeks listed on the chart.

When an amputation is the result of another party’s negligence, a victim can be entitled to seek compensation from the negligent party. Money awarded in civil actions is referred to as damages, and there are multiple kinds of damages.

Compensatory damages are amounts that are intended to replace what the victim lost, and they are usually the sum of economic and noneconomic damages. Economic damages (also referred to as economic losses) refer to quantifiable monetary losses the victim experienced, such as:

• Past and future medical expenses

• Past and future lost wages

• Future economic losses/Loss of earning capacity

• Property damage

• Any other out-of-pocket expenses.

Noneconomic damages are much harder for the parties involved to agree on, as such damages are largely forms of the very real impact an injury has had on a person’s life that cannot be calculated. Noneconomic damages are intended to compensate victims for the psychological ways injuries have affected their lives.

Common types of noneconomic damages award in amputation cases include, but are not limited to:

• Disability or disfigurement

• Pain and suffering

• Loss of consortium

• Loss of enjoyment of life
• Mental anguish/Emotional distress

In certain cases, victims may also be entitled to punitive damages. Illinois Pattern Civil Jury Instruction 35.01 establishes that in addition to compensatory damages, the law permits juries under certain circumstances to award punitive damages.

A jury can award punitive damages to punish a defendant and discourage it, him, or her and others from similar conduct if the jury finds that a defendant’s conduct was fraudulent, intentional, willful and wanton and approximately caused injury or damage to the plaintiff and believes that justice and the public good require it. Illinois Pattern Civil Jury Instruction 35.01 also states that jurors should consider the following three questions when arriving at their decision as to the amount of punitive damages:

• How reprehensible was the defendant’s conduct?

• What actual and potential harm did the defendant’s conduct cause to the plaintiff in this case?

• What amount of money is necessary to punish the defendant and discourage the defendant and others from future wrongful conduct [in light of defendant’s financial condition]?