Builds auditable personal injury damages calculations separating special damages (medical, wage loss, out-of-pocket) from general damages (pain and suffering) using multiplier and per diem methods. Trigger when the user mentions PI damages calculation, personal injury valuation, demand package damages, special damages compilation, general damages multiplier, per diem pain and suffering, collateral source analysis, comparative fault adjustment, lien accounting, net-to-client modeling, billed vs. paid medical expenses, future care present value, or building a damages section for a demand letter or mediation statement.
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SKILL.md
Source instructions · Read-only preview
name
damages-calculator
title
Personal Injury Damages Calculator
description
Builds auditable personal injury damages calculations separating special damages (medical, wage loss, out-of-pocket) from general damages (pain and suffering) using multiplier and per diem methods. Trigger when the user mentions PI damages calculation, personal injury valuation, demand package damages, special damages compilation, general damages multiplier, per diem pain and suffering, collateral source analysis, comparative fault adjustment, lien accounting, net-to-client modeling, billed vs. paid medical expenses, future care present value, or building a damages section for a demand letter or mediation statement.
Produces a defensible, auditable PI damages model: every figure traced to a source document, billed and paid columns carried, general damages justified by methodology, and adjustments (comparative fault, liens, caps) applied transparently.
Quick Start
Gather incident, billing, medical, wage, and future care documents (Intake below)
Structure the model with special damages, general damages, and adjustments sections
Calculate each category with source-traced line items
Apply jurisdictional adjustments and produce final demand summary
Verify with Quality Audit checklist before delivery
Intake (Mandatory)
Ask every time unless user says "use defaults" or "just draft":
Medical records — EMS, ER, imaging, operative reports, PT, pain management, discharge summaries
Wage/employment — employer verification, 13+ weeks pay stubs, W-2s/1099s (3 years), disability notes, FMLA/STD, used PTO/sick time
Replacement services — home care, childcare, cleaning, transport invoices
General damages support — pain journal, witness statements, injury photos, mental health records, functional limitations
Future care — life care plan, surgeon recommendations, PT plan, vocational evidence
Defaults if user doesn't respond: carry both billed and paid columns; present multiplier and per diem for general damages; flag comparative fault and liens for attorney resolution; flag jurisdictional rules [VERIFY].
Pause for missing categories before finalizing numbers.
Howell v. Hamilton Meats, 52 Cal. 4th 541 (2011) jurisdictions
Reasonable value
Reasonable value standard jurisdictions
If counsel cannot specify, carry both columns and flag for attorney determination.
Sections: A. Special damages (past/future medical, past/future wages, out-of-pocket, replacement services) · B. General damages (pain/suffering, emotional distress, loss of enjoyment, disfigurement, consortium) · C. Adjustments (comparative fault, offsets, policy limits, liens, statutory caps)
Step 2: Past Medical Specials
Extract per line item: service date, provider, CPT/DRG code, amount billed, amount paid/adjusted.
Causation screen (all three required):
Temporality — treatment began promptly for complained-of body parts
Consistency — records document injury complaints throughout
Medical necessity — care related to diagnosis and mechanism
Flag items failing any criterion as "potentially contested."
Establish disability period from work notes/restrictions — flag gaps between incident and first visit
Calculate wage base:
Type
Method
Hourly
Avg weekly hours × rate from pay stubs
Salaried
Annual ÷ 52
Tipped/commission
Historical earnings documentation
Self-employed
Tax returns + P&L (gross ≠ earnings); flag for expert if large
Add lost overtime, bonuses, used PTO/sick, lost employer benefits (retirement match, health premiums)
State gross vs. net methodology explicitly; flag tax treatment for jurisdictional review
Step 4: Future Economic Damages
Only calculate with evidentiary foundation. Typically requires expert testimony for admissibility.
Source
Approach
Life care plan
Use plan categories and totals directly
Specific recommendation
Unit cost × quantity; label assumption-based
Vague reference ("may need surgery")
Do NOT assign dollar figure; flag for medical opinion
Present value: Discount projected costs at appropriate rate; account for medical inflation. Flag methodology for jurisdictional verification.
Future earning capacity: BLS work-life expectancy tables. Without expert input, produce labeled "scenario analysis" (conservative/aggressive) with all assumptions marked.
Step 5: General Damages
Build harm narrative from records before calculating: pain duration/intensity, objective findings, treatment invasiveness, daily life disruption, permanency/scarring.
Never select a multiplier without articulating severity justification.
Per Diem Method
Daily rate by recovery phase:
Phase
Rate
Example
Acute
Higher
$200–400/day
Subacute
Moderate
$100–200/day
Residual/chronic
Lower
$50–100/day
Benchmark: plaintiff's daily earnings (a day of pain ≥ a day of work).
Present both methods. Convergence strengthens demand; divergence requires reassessment. Flag per diem trial permissibility — some courts prohibit per diem arguments [VERIFY].
Step 6: Adjustments and Final Summary
Double-counting check:
Wage loss not also counted as diminished earning capacity
No overlapping facility/global charges
Non-economic subcategories as single total with narrative components, not additive line items (unless jurisdiction requires)
Comparative fault:
Regime
Rule
Pure comparative
Recovery reduced by plaintiff's % fault
50%-bar modified
No recovery if plaintiff ≥ 50% at fault
51%-bar modified
No recovery if plaintiff ≥ 51% at fault
Present gross damages, then risk-adjusted range if fault disputed.
Collateral source: Show both billed and paid; flag recoverable measure for attorney.
Liens: Net-to-client sensitivity analysis when data available. Flag resolution steps (Medicare conditional payments, ERISA reimbursement).
Statutory caps: Uncapped value + capped maximum as separate lines. Flag med-mal caps, government entity limits [VERIFY].
Policy limits: Present full case value separately; note how limits affect demand posture.
Every figure must trace to a document. Missing documents → label as estimate.
Post-Draft Alignment (Mandatory)
Ask after delivering initial calculation:
Billed or paid as primary medical expense measure?
Is comparative fault estimate accurate?
Additional lien holders unaccounted for?
Does general damages result align with counsel's valuation?
If no response, recommend resolving billed-vs-paid (highest-impact variable) and proceed if authorized.
Quality Audit
Every dollar traces to source document (or labeled estimate)
Both billed and paid columns carried until counsel selects
Causation screen applied to each medical charge
Wage loss methodology correct for employment type
Future damages supported by evidence, not speculation
General damages justified by both multiplier and per diem
No double-counting between categories
Comparative fault applied correctly for jurisdiction
Lien accounting complete with net-to-client analysis
Statutory caps identified and applied
All legal rules verified or flagged [VERIFY]
Assumptions documented prominently
Jurisdiction Checklist
Flag and resolve before finalizing:
Collateral source / billed vs. paid rule
Comparative negligence regime and threshold
Non-economic damages caps (by case type)
No-fault/PIP serious injury threshold
Per diem argument permissibility
Present value discount requirements
Joint and several liability rules
Wrongful death framework (if applicable)
Loss of consortium availability
Pitfalls
No invented data. Never fabricate citations, verdict data, or "average settlement values." Use [VERIFY] for any unconfirmed citation.
No speculative futures. Do not assign future damages figures without medical support.
All legal rules verified or flagged. Caps, collateral source, comparative negligence — verify or mark [VERIFY].
Ethics: ABA Model Rules 1.1, 3.1, 4.1, 3.3.
Scope notice: "Attorney work product draft requiring review. Jurisdictional rules must be verified. Figures based on provided documentation and stated assumptions."
