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By Grégory DAMY, specialist in insurance law and victim compensation – 04.92.15.05.05.
The case of the pianist in personal injury law. A distinction should be made between damage on the one hand, which is an attack on the physical or psychological integrity of the human person, and reparable damage on the other hand, which is an attack on individual rights, whether financial or personal.
The same damage, that is to say the same lesion, will not have the same consequences according to the victim. This is also the reason why the lawyer must fight against any attempt to scale up, in accordance with the principle of full compensation for damages.
In this regard, Cabinet DAMY had to deal with a textbook case, in this case that of the pianist whose traffic accident caused him significant pain in his wrist.
This victim was riding a motorcycle by the sea when a cyclist decided to cross all traffic lanes. When he fell to the ground, the motorcyclist was seriously injured : tearing and bone dislocation of the right shoulder, erosions and multiple skin wounds… Additional examinations by a hand surgeon also revealed a disjunction in the right wrist which required an operation.
The contradictory amicable expertise carried out by the insurance company made it possible to clinically note all the damage, in particular the functional sequelae at the level of the right hand and the wrist.
The resulting damage then consisted of a significant professional impact because playing the piano becomes painful if it is prolonged.
Playing in the evenings in large hotels for sometimes more than 4 hours, this pianist could hardly play for more than an hour before his wrist became troublesome. He could certainly render his service, but not without difficulty. This is the interest of the injury item for the professional impact, which notably compensates for the increased hardship in the professional exercise of the victim.
After tough negotiations between the Société d’Avocats DAMY and the opposing insurer, this pianist obtained the amicable payment of the sum of €60,000.00 in respect of the professional impact. By calling on the expertise of his lawyer in the matter, he was spared litigation while obtaining satisfactory compensation.
Gregory DAMY – 2020
