Legal Question in Personal Injury in Pennsylvania

Re: Elder Law

An insurance defense attorney (the type that wants to pay as little as possible) might make the argument that because an older person has fewer years to live than a youngster, the harm of a personal injury is less. This is the inverse argument that a lawyer for an injured young person might make. (This young man will have to live for the next forty years in pain.)

However, I for one have never accepted the argument that older folks deserve less. If anything, I would suggest they deserve more! After all, it's tough enough when you have the normal aches and pains that older folks tend to have. To add more pain and suffering on top of that seems like a more serious and heavy burden than for an otherwise healthy young person.

Young people tend to recuperate more quickly than older people, so the same injury to an older person would require more medical visits, more time and attention, and therefore, more compensation.

It's easy for lawyers to argue both sides of the issue - that's what we do all day. But I think the best answer to your question is that a person should be compensated based on the unique circumstances and characteristics of the particular situation involved. Comparisons can be helpful, but in the end, injury cases are about people as individuals. The most fair and just way to determine compensation is to examine the way that an injury effects someone's life.

Others might disagree with me, but these are my thoughts. I hope you find them helpful.