Personal Injury: Calculating Compensatory Damages in New Hampshire

When an injury happens to you due to the negligence of another person or entity, New Hampshire law provides for relief in the form of compensation for injuries sustained from the negligent party:

The well-settled law in New Hampshire is that an injured person is entitled to a full, fair and adequate compensation for their losses.

There are several different types of damages that are recoverable in New Hampshire and the court will consider several types of losses, which include pain and suffering, lost wages, and dismemberment, to name a few. But, how does the court calculate compensatory damages in a personal injury case? Before you can understand how damages are calculated, it is important to understand how to potentially win your personal injury case.

Winning a Personal Injury Claim in New Hampshire

In order to win a personal injury claim in the state of New Hampshire, the Plaintiff must meet the necessary burden of proof by showing that:

• The defendant owed a duty to you, the plaintiff;
• The defendant breached that duty of care; and
• Your injuries were proximately caused by the defendant’s actions.

In order to prove (and prevail) that harm that the plaintiff has suffered and the pain and economic losses the plaintiff has endured, evidence in a personal injury claim can be classified into two different categories: physical evidence and non-physical evidence.

Physical Evidence

Physical evidence can be anything that is found at the scene of the accident or injury. Physical evidence refers to anything that is tangible, can be toughed, or observed and physically understood by the jury. In personal injury cases, physical evidence can be impacting because it allows the jury to actually see what happened. Physical evidence can come in a few different forms, two primary forms of physical evidence are:

• Tangible Evidence: "Tangible" evidence can refer to things that the jury can have direct interaction with. This can include things like wrecked vehicles, or a recovery scar. These are things that the jury can observe to gain a sensory impression of the incident and its effects.
• Photographs: Sometimes, physical evidence cannot be wholly preserved. It may be necessary to document the evidence in photographic form. Commonly photographed evidence can include the immediate scene of your injury, your initial injuries, and your medical operations. If the original scenes or injuries are unavailable for presentation, photographs can help provide the jury with an idea of what happened and how you were affected.

Non-Physical Evidence

Non-physical evidence is typically presented as information to the jury. The information is often testimonial in nature and is presented to the jury in an effort to have them come to an intended conclusion from the evidence presented. Most of the time, non-physical evidence, is the bulk the evidence used in the case as access to physical evidence is often more difficult to obtain. Non-physical evidence may take several forms.

• Police reports;
• Testimony;
• Depositions;
• Medical bills; and
• Medical records.

Before your case starts you need to gather as much evidence as possible while also keeping in mind that not all evidence will be permissible in court, but your experienced attorney at Tenn And Tenn, PA. will need to see as much information as possible to help jump start the case.