What's An Ear Worth?
In the Maryland Accident Lawyer Blog, Laura Zois recently discussed the value of cases involving an injury to an ear. Laura talks about how it's not really possible to lump all ear cases together because of the variety of ways in ahich they arise, and the varying severity of the possible injuries.
A case where the injury is a burst eardrum that heals with no hearing loss will be valued much differently that a case where the physical injury to the ear resulted in a permanent imparment. You tend to see ear injuries fairly often in carr accident injury cases. I think this is because often the force of the collision will slam the side of the head into a door pillar or window, or because of the force of an exploding airbag.
I am handling a case now in the Circuit Court for Prince George's County involving an ear injury. My client was involved in an auto accident, and now suffers from permanent tinnitus (ringing in the ears). She has recieved 25k from the liability insurer. I don't think this is enough to cover her damages, so I am waiting to see what value the jury places on a permanent, irritating, ringing in the ears.
