Gender differences still persist with personal injury claims

In most cases, calculating future loss of income can be difficult, so a good lawyer tries to obtain an amount of compensation that leaves the affected person in a financial situation close to where they would have been without being affected. by an accident. Unfortunately, calculating damages in personal injury claims for men and women is an issue where there continues to be significant inequality, often caused by gender stereotypes and outdated assumptions.

The fundamental problem with the calculation models used by many law firms is that much of these “models” are based on outdated assumptions. Although on the one hand, the calculations of possible lost earnings are applied more generously to women, based on the assumption that women live longer than men, these calculations are always made applying discounts that take into account the possibility that women women stop working, regardless of their injuries, to take care of family matters.

This results in compensation amounts that, due to these discounts, end up covering lesser amounts when the victims of a personal injury incident are women.

Although today it is expected that a woman can spend time off work (due to circumstances that imply, or not, maternity), the compensation discount feels particularly high, since it no longer accurately reflects the percentages of return to work (75% Office for National Statistics) nor the fact that women are returning to work more effectively now that certain parental and personal responsibilities have begun to be more equally distributed.

Previous guidelines also made a specific distinction between the sexes, on the basis that it would be more distressing for a woman to have scars than for a man. In the last edition, published in 2017, this distinction has been removed, pointing to the possibility of a new approach that removes unnecessary gender distinctions that allow anyone to obtain legal compensation that suits their actual circumstances, and not subjective assessments.

Yosi Yahoudai is a founder and the managing partner of J&Y. His practice is comprised primarily of cases involving automobile and motorcycle accidents, but he also represents people in premises liability lawsuits, including suits alleging dangerous conditions of public property, third-party criminal conduct, and intentional torts. He also has expertise in cases involving product defects, dog bites, elder abuse, and sexual assault. He earned his Bachelor of Arts from the University of California and is admitted to practice in all California State Courts, and the United States District Court for the Southern District of California. If you have any questions about this article, you can contact Yosi by clicking here.