Calculating the financial damages of a personal injury is a complex process — and lawyers must consider a variety of factors to quantify the damages accurately. This process becomes even more challenging when calculating the financial impact of an injury to a business owner. A severe injury may take them out of the company for an extended period, and profits may decrease without their skills and knowledge. Alternatively, business profits may not decrease, and it may be necessary to critique the amounts they have claimed.
We’ve summarized the key financial considerations that lawyers need to address throughout every step of the process — whether making a claim or disputing a claim outcome. We’ll also examine when expert knowledge may be required to help navigate the financial complexities of a personal injury dispute to enable you to present your case from a position of confidence.
What is a complex personal injury?
In a personal injury claim, the plaintiff seeks fair compensation for an injury that occurred due to the actions, negligence, or liability of another party. This may include injuries received through car accidents, workplace accidents, or other incidents.
If a severe injury prevents an individual from operating their business at its normal capacity, those financial losses must also be considered when estimating the damages. These types of claims require expert financial knowledge to quantify damages accurately and build a complete package to support your case.
What financial complexities do lawyers need to address?
Comprehensive financial experience is necessary to navigate every step of a complex personal injury claim successfully — from the initial gathering of facts to the end of the trial. Lawyers must navigate these financial complexities during the different stages of the process:
Statement of claim / defence
This stage involves identifying potential heads of damages and determining key financial considerations for the personal injury claim. Without extensive financial knowledge, it may be challenging to quantify claims, evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of both your position and the opposition’s position, and develop clear explanations of the financial damages to support your case.
Trial preparation
During trial preparation, it is essential to review financial documents and perform key issue analysis to present a comprehensive financial perspective of your case. Your team may find it challenging to prepare financial questions for opposing experts, develop concise summaries of financial analyses, and assess damages without in-depth financial experience.
Trial
Finding a professional who can clearly articulate the financial impacts during trial will make your case even more compelling. Additionally, live feedback on expert testimony during the trial can help you gain insights into the arguments of the opposition and effectively address their position.
Personal injury
How the right support can help you navigate your case
It may be beneficial to bring a forensic accountant on board to help navigate your case if your legal team does not have the financial knowledge required to address the above considerations. This type of accountant works closely with lawyers and legal teams during complex personal injury claims to investigate, analyze, and present financial information in legal proceedings.
When selecting a forensic accountant to support your case, it is important to ensure they have extensive experience and knowledge in key areas and across various industries. This helps ensure they can fully calculate the magnitude of what is at stake.
Statement of claim / defence
During this stage, a forensic accountant will use financial analysis and data examination to accurately calculate the financial damages that are being asserted by each party. This includes historic results from the business, economic and industry factors, statistical data, and case-specific factors to tailor the results to the individual’s specific situation and business.
A forensic accountant also supports lawyers during this stage by providing clear summaries of the analysis and evaluating the strengths and weaknesses in the positions of both parties from a financial perspective. This creates an accurate picture of the financial damages and provides you with the information you need to present your case confidently.
Preparing for trial
Claims can involve a lot of different moving parts — and a forensic accountant can help organize the relevant materials for a trial. During this stage, they will perform a document review and an analysis of key issues to provide the comprehensive financial perspective you need to present your case effectively.
A forensic accountant will also perform financial modelling to assess and present the financial complexities of your case and prepare questions to help you challenge the methodologies and arguments of the opposition. This helps ensure you have the materials you need to fully support your legal arguments during the trial.
Trial
During the trial, a forensic accountant can provide testimony to help communicate complex financial matters to the judge and jury in an understandable way. They can also attend the trial and share live feedback to help you present your position in an effective and compelling manner.
Take the next steps
No complex personal injury claim is the same — and lawyers need to address many complex financial considerations to navigate each stage of the process successfully. If you need support to quantify the losses caused by a personal injury, contact MNP’s Sheetal Esmail or Craig Burkart. Our professionals have the knowledge to calculate the damages and will deliver the in-depth support you need throughout each step of your case.
Contact us
Sheetal Esmail CPA, CA
Senior Manager, Forensics
Craig Burkart CPA, CA, IFA, CFF, CIP
Partner, National Leader - Insurance Advisory