Question: How are “mortality tables” used in personal injury cases?
Answer: Mortality tables are used in the trial court’s final instructions to the jury which allows the jury to consider the plaintiff’s life expectancy in awarding damages if the plaintiff has a permanent injury. It is well-established in Indiana that standard mortality tables may be introduced into evidence to show the probable duration of a plaintiff’s life on the question of compensation for permanent injuries. Once such tables are in evidence, it is proper for the trial court judge to instruct the jury that, in determining the amount of damages, if any, it may consider the plaintiff’s life expectancy. It is also well-settled that trial courts may take judicial notice of standard mortality tables which are matters of common knowledge of which there is a certainty and of which there is no dispute. It is permissible for the trial court to judicially note the plaintiff’s life expectancy as shown by standard mortality tables during its final instructions to the jury. Finally, expert medical opinion evidence is usually required with respect to diagnosis of injuries, causation of injuries, permanence of injuries, necessity of medical bills and the nature, scope and extent of injuries sustained by a plaintiff. The issue of causation is relating the plaintiff’s permanent injury to the conduct causing said injuries.
