Tip #109 - How to use the Special Damages

Sooner or later, during the life cycle of most personal injury cases, the issue of “Special Damages” will be raised - either prior to litigation, during litigation, or at trial.

Special damages (also known as economic damages) include monetary relief awarded for the out-of-pocket expenses incurred due to the negligent action of the defendant. They cover only tangible harms that can be easily translated into a specific dollar amount and are calculated according to fair market values at the time of the injury. Two common examples include amounts award for lost wages or medical bills.

In most personal injury cases, the special damages must be clearly stated in specific amounts and the calculations are an important step in determining the value or worth of the case. Some additional examples are:

• Loss wages

• Costs for the repair or replacement of damaged property

• Costs associated with medical expenses

• Additional domestic or caretaker costs

In SmartAdvocate, Special Damages are displayed on the Special Damages Page located under the Plaintiff’s tab. Most of them are automatically populated from other specialized pages (such as Medical Providers, Employment, Vehicle, etc.), but you can enter other types of Special Damages (e.g., Household Help) on the Special Damages Page directly.

The Special Damages Types (some examples mentioned above) are configurable in Picklist Maintenance as additional custom types (available only if you have Admin privileges).

Special Damages that are entered on the Special Damages Page are displayed in a grid (with totals) on the page and can be printed in a document in various formats using the following merge codes:

Here is an example of a document (portions of Plaintiff’s Answer to Demand for Interrogatories) where the “Case Special Damages Table” Merge Code was used to generate the list of special damages in the case.

The Special Damages Page and the various Special Damages Table Merge Codes available in SmartAdvocate make it easy for you to enter the Special Damages information in your documents such as a demand, Answer to Interrogatories, or Bill of Particulars.