Litigation Attorneys in Dayton Ohio

To Sue or Not to Sue?

 People in Dayton Ohio litigate cases for many reasons. Before litigants invest money, time, and effort on a lawsuit, they should understand how their claim translates into dollar figures. While some claims translate easily into dollar figures, others do not. For instance, the damage to a piece of property may involve a simple determination of the money needed to repair the property. On the other hand, translating pain and suffering from an accident into dollar figures can be difficult. In addition, a defendant may not be able to pay a claim causing an otherwise high-dollar claim to translate into a worthless claim because the plaintiff cannot collect.

The plaintiff must prove the defendant is liable for damages claimed as well as the types and amounts of damages. Methods for proving amounts of damages include presentation of like item or same item values from catalogs, estimates from professionals such as mechanics, appraisals, and expert testimony. With enough evidence, plaintiffs may also recover future damages. However, courts do not award damages claimed based on speculation or unsupported by admissible evidence. Therefore, before bringing a lawsuit plaintiffs should fully understand what damages they can and cannot prove because unproved damages almost always equates to no monetary award.

Types of damages in litigation include:

• Compensatory Damages: amount of money awarded to compensate for actual injury or economic loss. The award of compensatory damages tries to put the damaged party in the same position the damaged party was in before the occurrence of the damage.
• General Damages: damages for which an exact dollar amount cannot be calculated. Examples include pain and suffering, shortened life expectancy, and loss of reputation.
• Punitive Damages ("Exemplary Damages"): damages awarded as a punishment and example to others for wrongful acts.
• Nominal Damages: damages awarded to show that a plaintiff’s assertion was correct but that the damage to the plaintiff was not large.

Examples of common damages sought include lost wages, and pain and suffering. These damages can result from many events including car accidents, poorly performed surgery, improper release from a job, personal injury, a slip fall accident injury, and product failure.  personal injury attorneys in Dayton Oh can help clients with different types of accident injuries.

Proving lost wages requires knowledge of wages before and after the event causing the loss. Lost wages include past wages lost and future wages likely to be lost. The plaintiff’s age, health, education, skills, and industry wage scales provide evidence to prove wages lost. If the time between the award and the cause of the loss is short enough, the past wage loss may be determined by looking at the plaintiff’s wage rate. However, if much time has passed, proving wage loss prior a court award may be more difficult because of changes in market wages and the plaintiff’s career track. Regarding past and future wage loss, expert witnesses often provide competing evidence for the plaintiff and defendant. Experts might testify about whether the plaintiff is or will be able to work, and, if not, how much wage loss results.

Proving pain and suffer involves showing medical evidence and asking the judge or jury to draw logical inferences about the resulting pain and suffering. Videos and journals that document day-to-day activities and treatment often serve as evidence. Experts often testify about the effects of an injury. Because there is no clear way to quantify pain and suffering, a lawyer's advocacy skills can affect damage awards.

Until damage awards have been paid, plaintiffs who get court awards of damages become creditors to the defendant who becomes a debtor. People with little income and property may be "judgment proof". A creditor cannot collect a judgment from a "judgment proof" debtor because the debtor has nothing the creditor can legally take. Rarely, such as failure to pay child support, the government does not throw debtors in jail for failure to pay debts. In Ohio, a creditor cannot take away basics such as ordinary clothing, modest household furnishings, personal effects, food, Social Security, unemployment or public aid.

Before starting litigation, plaintiffs must decide if it is worth using their money, time, and effort. Generally, this involves comparison of the money spent or put at risk in fees with the money potentially received. Pay particular attention to the word received. Just because a court makes an award does not mean that the money will be collected. For instance, a defendant found liable may not have any money or assets with which to pay. Therefore, people should exercise great care before starting a lawsuit.