How the Jury "Calculates" Your Personal Injury Award

Most personal injury cases settle out of court. But what about the rare exception when a personal injury lawsuit goes all the way to trial? What goes on in the deliberation room? In order to make its decision, the jurors have to:

• review the evidence that was presented in the trial
• consider the law that applies to the case
• determine who was at fault for the plaintiff's injuries, and
• decide how much compensation ("damages") the injured person should receive.

Let's take a closer look at the jury deliberation and award process.

Reviewing the Evidence in an Injury Case

Most jurors pay reasonably close attention to the evidence during the trial. Some even take notes. Then, when they begin their deliberations in the jury room after the trial concludes, jurors will usually review the evidence quite closely with each other. They cannot have an entire transcript of the trial or testimony; they must rely on their memories and their notes, but they're allowed to have all of the trial exhibits with them. They'll usually discuss the evidence until they're all satisfied that they have a good handle on the incident leading up to the injury, and how things happened.

In an easy case, that could take less than an hour, but, in a more complex case, that could take days. After they have figured out the facts, the jurors will turn to the law.

Applying the Law: Jury Instructions

Judges give juries lengthy jury instructions. They generally give these instructions at the end of the trial, but some judges give some of the instructions at the beginning or in the middle of the trial. All judges give their instructions orally, but many judges now also give a copy of the instructions to the jurors in writing.

The instructions cover every aspect of the jury's deliberations. They explain how the jurors should deliberate, how they should analyze the witnesses and the evidence, and then explain the law of the case in detail.

With most accident-related cases, the judge will explain the law of negligence in general, and then discuss the specific laws that apply to that trial. If, for example, the trial was over a car accident that occurred at an intersection with a four way stop sign, the judge will instruct the jury on the elements of negligence, the law of stop signs, and which driver has the right of way.

All of this will factor into whether the injured person met their burden of proof to establish that the defendant should be held liable.

Judges will instruct jurors that they must make their decision strictly according to the law as it is given to them, even if they don't agree with the law, and they must not be swayed by emotion. This is sometimes easier said than done.

How Do Jurors Decide an Injury Plaintiff's "Pain and Suffering"?

This is a big question. It's easy for juries to decide how much to award injury-related medical bills and lost income, because these kinds of "economic" losses can be easily calculated. But how do you calculate someone else's pain and suffering? It's a tough task, made even harder because the judge's instructions to the jury typically don't do much more than:

• define mental and physical pain and suffering under personal injury law, and
• instruct jurors to use their own good sense, background, and experience in determining a fair and reasonable figure to award for pain and suffering.

Jurors tend to put themselves in the plaintiff's shoes and imagine how much money they'd be satisfied with if they were injured in the same way. But collectively, they'll need to arrive at a consensus in terms of the amount to award.

In this context, it's no wonder both parties in a personal injury case often prefer to settle out of court. Leaving the final decision on compensation in the hands of a jury is a risky bet.

Next Steps

If it looks like your personal injury case is headed for the trial phase, make sure your attorney addresses all of your concerns and gives you a good sense of what to expect. Don't be afraid to ask questions. It's your case, after all.

If you're still in the early stages of your claim, learn more about how a lawyer can help your injury claim, and get tips on finding the right lawyer for you and your case.