Lessons · Law foundations · damages arithmetic
Damages arithmetic: add the losses, then apply the reductions
Add the measurable losses and the general damages figure the problem gives, then apply any reduction, then subtract anything already paid.
Hone is a place to practise a career, one idea a day. This is one of its lessons, written out in full and free to read without an account.
What it is for
The schedule of loss is the document the other side reads most carefully, and every line of it is arithmetic somebody can check. A schedule with a reduction applied in the wrong place is not a difference of opinion; it is a mistake with a number on it.
How to think about it
Build it as a column and do the steps in order: measurable losses, then the general figure, then the subtotal, then the reduction, then credits. Never apply a reduction to a single line when the rule applies it to the total.
Worked example
Measurable losses, itemised: bills, wages lost, things replaced. Say $12,000.Special damages: each one has a document behind it.
The figure for pain and inconvenience the problem gives: $18,000.General damages: not measurable from receipts, so the problem supplies it.
Subtotal: $12,000 plus $18,000 is $30,000.Add before reducing. This is the order the arithmetic goes in.
Reduction of 25 percent for the claimant's own share: $30,000 times 0.75 is $22,500.One times sign, applied to the subtotal, not to each line separately.
Your turn
A total of $40,000 is reduced by a contributory share of 10 percent. Write the amount left.
$40,000 with a 10 percent reduction: 40,000 x (1 - 0.10) = $
Solve one, graded on the server
The trap
Taking the reduction off each line as you go. Reducing the medical bills and then reducing the total again takes the same percentage off twice, and the error grows with every line added.