Loss of enjoyment of life is a legal term used to describe the long-term effects that an injury has on a victim’s quality of life when compared to life prior to the injury. A jury will typically take the following factors into account when determining these damages: the injured party’s age, educational background, and employment history, the extent of their injuries, the long-term effects of their injuries, and the type of activities they lost before getting hurt.
A legal phrase used in some personal injury cases is “loss of pleasure of life.” When a person experiences a bodily or mental harm, and that injury inhibits the person’s capacity to perform a certain activity that offered the person happiness before the injury.
Some of these actions may include executing certain hobbies, leisure pursuits, service opportunities, and social engagements. Take note that these damages are granted in California. However they are incorporated in compensation for pain and suffering, rather than stand as a separate damage award.
Loss of pleasure of life is an example of “compensatory damages” that a plaintiff may receive in a personal injury case. In some of these circumstances, a plaintiff can also be granted punitive damages. Keep reading to learn more about how they are included and calculated. Then contact Law Offices of Fernando D. Vargas at 909-982-0707 for a free legal consultation.
What does “loss of enjoyment of life” mean?
“Loss of enjoyment in life” is a legal term used in some personal injury claims. It refers to when a person sustains a bodily or mental damage, it reduces their capacity to engage in a particular activity that they previously found enjoyable.
Loss of enjoyment of life examples include specific pastimes or recreational pursuits, family-bonding activities, social interactions with friends, travel, a profession, and volunteer opportunities. Most frequently, it involves catastrophic injuries, such as damage to the spinal cord, paralysis, blindness or deafness, and severe or disfiguring burns.
How are the costs associated with diminished quality of life calculated?
When determining the proper damages for loss of enjoyment of life, a judge or jury will weigh a variety of considerations. Among them are the injured party’s age, looks, educational background, and employment history; the area in which they reside; the seriousness of their injuries; the long-term effects of their injuries; and the type of activity they have lost.
In addition, the party seeking these damages will call economists and experts (as witnesses) to assist judges and juries in calculating the diminished quality of life. These parties might offer particular approaches to aid in assigning a monetary value to human life.
Experts and economists might try to determine its value, for instance, by calculating the amount of money that businesses invest in safety equipment that lowers the chance of death (such as seat belts and smoke alarms), then multiplying this sum by the proportion of lost enjoyment that individual has endured as a result of the accident in question.
Are damages for loss of enjoyment of life granted in California?
In California, certain damages are granted. Yet, rather than serving as a distinct damage award, they are incorporated into any compensation for pain and suffering. Nonetheless, the damages are still determined in the way outlined above. Contact Law Offices of Fernando D. Vargas at 909-982-0707 with any questions or to request a free legal consultation.
