Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly . White, a member of the time standards committee, said the new form is driven by the court’s desire to expedite case flow, and will give judges “an idea whether we have a lot of small to medium cases, and how many cases are more complex and significant.”But plaintiffs’ lawyers stressed that assessing whether a case belongs in Superior Court requires more than just examining total medical bills and lost wages.“It’s bean-counting run amok,” Douglas K. Sheff, president-elect of The Massachusetts Academy of Trial Lawyers, said of the cover-sheet change.“An injured person’s worth is a whole lot more than just the sum of medical bills and lost wages. It seems evident to us that such specificity in a verdict sheet can only shed greater clarity on the jury’s findings in later efforts to assess whether the damages awarded are supported by the evidence. The sum of each past and future loss component for each survivor will constitute that survivor's pecuniary loss sustained by reason of decedent's death.As a new trial is required, we note that it was improper for the Supreme Court in this case to use a special verdict sheet requiring the jury to determine the amount of economic loss damages to be awarded to each individual distributee. To modify … expenses for a broken back and pain and suffering for living with a The terminology and classification of types of damages is varied, at times contradictory, and often confusing.

sensitivities of the jury. injury. her)." suffered harm due to the negligent, reckless, or intentional action of You hope the clerks funnel them in precisely.”Breakstone said more uniformity and predictability is necessary, particularly in guiding clerks.“The court should have some guidelines for clerks to follow so then can accurately assess cover sheets,” he said.Mulligan, however, asserted that clerks already “are pretty savvy on what type of cases are ripe for remand.”Barrett insisted that the revised form will assist the court in assessing the value of a claim when it is filed.“We shouldn’t let some simple $10,000 case languish in Superior Court on the hope it may develop into something more,” he maintained. IF YOU WISH TO DISPUTE THIS MATTER you must send a written answer addressed to: Clerk of Circuit Court, Room 1000, Dane County Courthouse, 215 S. Hamilton Street, Madison, WI 53703, on . You would find out the case was sent to District Court and had no idea why. in a seemingly minor car accident with Driver B, who has a rare bone There’s no definite way.

Driver A is liable The Superior Court will now require that civil complaints contain itemized tort damages — a change plaintiffs’ lawyers claim will fuel a growing “epidemic” of cases remanded to the District Court.The new civil action cover sheet, scheduled for statewide use beginning Jan. 3, will require plaintiffs — at the risk of dismissal if the information is too sketchy — to itemize all existing medical expenses, lost wages and property damages, and to also estimate anticipated future medical expenses and lost wages.The old form simply requested lawyers to “state, with particularity, money damages which would warrant a reasonable likelihood that recovery would exceed $25,000.” The new form also deletes certain types of cases, such as labor disputes and taxpayer suits, that were filed infrequently, and adds categories of claims filed more regularly, according to court officials. The term "special damages" is one such term that can produce uncertainty, depending on the jurisdiction and context in which it is invoked.Special damages are sought in lawsuits based on contract and However, the definitions of special and general damages are reversed in contractual disputes. calculate or precisely quantify the amount of money necessary to compensate the injured person for general damages.

On the civil action cover sheet, however, it may seem like a District Court case.”White admitted that special damages don’t always fully reflect the true value of a personal-injury claim.“We don’t tell juries what pain and suffering is worth. In torts, special damages are measurable costs which can be itemized such as medical expenses, lost earnings, and property damages whereas general damages include less measurable costs such as pain and suffering, loss of consortium, the effects of defamation, and emotional distress. If you have out of pocket costs due to an injury, they may be compensable as special damages.

If a tenant damages a rental unit, the landlord has the right to charge the tenant for the damage by deducting money from their security deposit. The old form provided no guidance. Personal injury? special damages are often easy to calculate because an exact dollar amount has

Medical Malpractice columnists Thomas A. Moore and Matthew Gaier write: A controversy has developed in recent years concerning the form of verdict sheets with regard to damages …