If you’re a reporter covering a jury verdict, here’s what you MUST do

If you’re a reporter writing a story about a big jury verdict, please don’t just describe the verdict as “a 25 million dollar verdict” and say nothing more.  Please, break down the award.  For example:

The $25 million dollar award included $10 million for past and future medical expenses, $10 million in pain & suffering, and the remainder for lost wages.

Without knowing how the jury awarded the money, we can’t really tell if it’s a noteworthy verdict.  In most cases, if the jury finds for the plaintiff, they will give the plaintiff everything he or she asked for in past medical expenses.  Often, they’ll also award whatever the plaintiff asked for in future medical expenses.  The same thing goes for lost wages.  The way we tell if a jury verdict is really noteworthy is if there is a large amount of punitive damages or noneconomic damages. (Noneconomic damages are often referred to as pain & suffering.)

Thanks so much!