Hedonic Damages
Injuries have the potential to seriously disrupt your life. Not only may you experience significant economic loss due to medical bills and the inability to work, but you may also lose the potential to live life the way you want to. When your lifestyle is inhibited due to an injury, an attorney may be able to help you seek hedonic damages in your claim against the person who caused your injuries.
So much of life is dependent on our ability to live—that is, to enjoy the life that we have by doing things that bring us pleasure and fulfillment. When the ability to do the things that bring you satisfaction in life is taken from you, you may be able to seek recovery of hedonic damages.
Hedonic damages are non-economic damages that affect your ability to enjoy life. It is separate from pain and suffering and includes compensation for not being able to do the things you used to do before you sustained your injury. For example, if you were an active skier before you sustained your injuries and can no longer ski as a result of your injuries, you may be able to seek recovery for hedonic damages.
The philosophy behind hedonic damages is based on the premise that life is worth more than the amount of money a person can make. While this may be true, hedonic damages can be difficult to calculate and recover since there is no concrete way to place a monetary value on pleasure. Despite this, formulas have been developed to help determine fair compensation for hedonic damages. An experienced accident attorney should be aware of these formulas and the experts needed to calculate damages.
Most formulas are based on the Willingness to Pay (WTP) concept. WTP refers to the amount of money a person is willing to invest to reduce their risk of death. Purchasing such things as smoke detectors, carbon-monoxide detectors and dead-bolt locks are all things that demonstrate a desire to protect oneself from harm. Based on what a person was willing to invest in to prevent harm to him or herself, experts can compute the value a person places on his or her life. Once this value is established, a percentage of the loss of enjoyment of life must be determined. It is this percentage of the value of a person’s life that may be recovered in court in some states.
Most claims for hedonic damages will require a psychological evaluation. This evaluation is used to determine the percentage of loss of the enjoyment of life and substantiate a plaintiff’s claim of hedonic damages. The evaluation usually includes things such as:
- practical functioning,
- emotional/psychological functioning,
- social functioning, and
- occupational functioning.
Your ability to do daily tasks, live free from debilitating emotional problems, interact with others and pursue the career of your choice are all things that give us pleasure in life. Assessing these four aspects of your life help determine how much pleasure has been taken from you as a result of your injury.
No matter what hobby or enjoyment in life was taken from you as a result of your injury, you may be able to recover hedonic damages. An experienced accident attorney should be able to help you determine if you are eligible to file such a claim and procure the necessary experts to help determine the monetary value of the enjoyment that has been taken from you.
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