Lawyerology.com

Depending on the jurisdiction personal injury lawyers representing plaintiffs from trucking cases to railroad accidents and products cases should consider per diem damages arguments.  In a recent case we tried in Arkansas, Reagan v. Dunaway Timber, we used a version of the per diem argument and the jury awarded $7,000,000 to our client.

A per diem argument simply argues for damages based on an amount per day for the rest of the plaintiff’s life.  We modified this traditional approach to use what I referred to as the “reverse per diem.”  In other words, ask for a number for damages, then divide it over the plaintiff’s life.  For example, in the case of one beneficiary who had lost her husband, we asked for $2,000,000 for one element of damages.  In the rural venue where the case was tried, this was considered very high, especially in light of the fact that our total request was in eight figures after adding all elements of damages.  However, using the reverse per diem, we lessened the shock factor of asking for a high number.  The decedent had a life expectancy of an additional 30 years, or 10,950 days.  In closing we argued that a $2,000,000 award amounted to less than $200 dollars a day to go through life without the husband our client deeply loved and relied on for the last 20 years.  It hardly seemed like enough after we did the math.

The variations of this approach are endless, but remember to research the law in the jurisdiction where your case is set to be sure per diem arguments are permitted before trying this.  Improperly using a per diem argument may get you a mistrial or reversal on appeal.