What Can I Recover for Loss of Use of Party of My Body
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North Carolina law provides that if an injured party suffers the loss of use of a part of his or her body such as a leg, arm or an eye the injured party may recover their compensation for the inconvenience and handicap resulting from loss. If the loss of use will continue in the future the injured party is entitled for that future loss.
If the loss of use of a part of the body is permanent, the fair compensation to which the injured would be entitled will depend in part upon that person’s life expectancy, that is, on how much longer he or she may reasonably expect to live. In determining life expectency, a jury is entitled to consider the mortuary tables, which show life expectancy for the injured party’s completed age. In addition, the jury will consider also other evidence as to the injured party’s health, their constitution and habits.
Fair compensation for one person would necessarily be different than fair compensation for another person even when dealing with the same part of the body. For instance, a concert pianist who loses an index finger suffers a far greater loss than would another person who is not as dependent upon each finger of each hand for an income. The loss of LeBron James’ big toe would be far more devastating to him than for a person who is not an athlete and for full performance upon one’s feet is not as crucial.
In determining fair value for the loss of use of a body part, the important question is how such a loss of use affected the injured party’s lifestyle. Has the injured person been forced to withdraw from their favorite hobby because of limitations imposed by a loss of use of part of the body? A bowler who has enjoyed league bowling for 20 years but who can no longer bowl as a result of the loss of the middle finger of the dominant hand has suffered a tragic loss which greatly affects his or her lifestyle. Such a loss should result in a substantial verdict. On the other hand, there are people who, because their jobs or leisure time activities, are not as demanding and can adapt quite well with the loss of a middle finger the dominant hand. Such a person should not expect as large a verdict as the bowler mentioned above.
There is no set yardstick for measuring the value of the loss of use of a part of the body. The decision is very difficult. If it is for that reason that the law has provided that in determining such very important issues, we do not leave it up to the lawyers and the judges to decide. This very important issue is decided by a jury of 12 chosen at random among the citizens throughout the county.