Future damages include anticipated medical expenses, lost earning capacity, and future pain and suffering. Economic components are projected over the relevant period and discounted to present value.
Reasonable certainty is the required standard.
Alternative Names:
Future Losses, Prospective Damages
Why it Matters?
The projection period drives magnitude more than any other assumption, since extending a care cost across a full life expectancy rather than a shortened one can double the total. Life expectancy adjustments for the claimant's actual condition, smoking history, and comorbidities are the productive challenge. Whether future non-economic damages are discounted is a separate question courts answer differently.
Frequently Confused with
Related terms
Frequently asked questions
What assumption drives magnitude most?
Are future non-economic damages discounted?
