Abstract
The concept of hedonic damages for loss of pleasure of life has been developed by forensic cases up to and includingMolzof v. United States (1992). One instrument available for assessment in this area, the Lost Pleasure of Life (LPL) scale, was refined through development of a rating matrix consisting of 37 behavioral anchors which experts had categorized into progressive levels of loss. Using brief instructions and case examples, mental health clinicians rated 15 written vignettes for loss of pleasure of life resulting from physical injuries. Results indicated moderate reliability (ICCR=.65 to .70) and moderately high correlation (r≥.86) between rank orderings of the case vignettes based on LPL ratings given by the clinicians and on financial awards for each case given by undergraduate students.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Albrecht, G. L. (Ed.). (1976).The sociology of physical disability and rehabilitation. Pittsburgh: University of Pittsburgh Press.
American Medical Association. (1994).Guides to the evaluation of permanent impairment (2nd ed.). Chicago: Author.
American Psychiatric Association. (1994).Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (4th ed.). Washington, DC: Author.
Beck, A. T., Steer, R. A., & Garbin, M. C. (1988). Psychometric properties of the Beck Depression Inventory: Twenty-five years of evaluation.Clinical Psychology Review, 8, 77–100.
Beck, A. T., Ward, C. H., Mendelson, M., Mock, J., & Erbaugh, J. (1961). An inventory for measuring depression.Archives of General Psychiatry, 4, 53–61.
Berla', E. P., Brookshire, M. L., & Smith, S. V. (1990). Hedonic damages and personal injury: A conceptual approach.Journal of Forensic Economics, 3, 1–8.
Bolton, B. (Ed.). (1987).Handbook of measurement and evaluation in rehabilitation (2nd ed.). Baltimore: Brookes.
Brady, J. (1989). Hedonic damages.Mississippi Law Journal, 59, 495–512.
Branch, T. W. (1994). Seeking recovery for loss of enjoyment of life.Trial, 30, 40–44.
Cox-Gedmark, J. (1980).Coping with physical disability. Philadelphia: Westminster.
Crowe, K. R. (1990). The semantical bifurcation of noneconomic loss: Should hedonic damage be recognized independently of pain and suffering damage?Iowa Law Review, 75, 1275–1303.
Diener, E. (1984). Subjective well-being.Psychological Bulletin, 95, 542–575.
Endicott, J., Spitzer, R. L., Fleiss, J. L., & Cohen, J. (1976). The Global Assessment Scale.Archives of General Psychiatry, 33, 766–771.
Fearon, S. J. (1989). Hedonic damages: A separate element in tort recoveries?Defense Counsel Journal, 56, 436–439.
Ferrans, C. E. (1990). Development of a Quality of Life Index for patients with cancer.Oncology Nursing Forum, 17, Supplement 15–21.
Ferrans, C. E., & Powers, M. J. (1985). Quality of Life Index: Development and psychometric properties.Advances in Nursing Science, 8, 15–24.
Gilson, B. S., Gilson, J. S., Bergner, M., Bobbitt, R. A., Kressel, S., Pollard, W. E., & Vesselago, M. (1975). The Sickness Impact Profile: Development of an outcome measure of health care.American Journal of Public Health, 65, 1304–1310.
Guccione, A. A., Cullen, K. E., & O'Sullivan, S. B. (1988). Functional assessment. In S. B. O'Sullivan & T. J. Schmitz (Eds.),Physical rehabilitation: Assessment and treatment (2nd ed., pp. 219–234). Philadelphia: Davis.
Guerin, E. J. (1992). Pandora's damages and the undoing of tort reform: An argument against the recovery of hedonic damages under Michigan's wrongful death.Detroit College of Law, 1992, 77–117.
Haggard, E. A. (1958).Intraclass correlation and the analysis of variance. New York: Dryden Press.
Hays, W. L. (1988).Statistics for the social sciences (4th ed.). New York: Holt, Rinehart, & Winston.
Herman, C. D. (1971). Psychiatric rehabilitation of the physically disabled. In F. H. Krusen (Ed.),Handbook of physical medicine and rehabilitation (2nd ed., pp. 762–796). Philadelphia: Saunders.
Hermes, P. J. (1987). Loss of enjoyment of life: Duplication of damages versus full compensation.North Dakota Law Review, 63, 561–600.
Jette, A. M. (1985). State of the art in functional status assessment. In J. H. Rothstein (Ed.),Measurement in physical therapy (pp. 137–168). New York: Churchill Livingston.
Jette, A. M., & Cleary, P. D. (1987). Functional disability assessment.Physical Therapy, 67, 1854–1859.
Jones, J. L. (1991). Hedonic damages: Above and beyond Section 1983.Santa Clara Law Review, 32, 809–842.
Kaplan, R. M., Bush, J. W., & Berry, C. C. (1976). Health status: Types of validity and the Index of Well-being.Health Services Research, 11, 478–507.
Kolpan, K. I. (1992). Hedonic damages.Journal of Head Trauma Rehabilitation, 7, 109–111.
Lambrinos, J. (1991). Hedonic damages: Economic theory, statistical foundation, and strategy.Defense Counsel Journal, 58, 391–397.
Landy, F. J., & Farr, J. L. (1980). Performance rating.Psychological Bulletin, 87, 72–107.
Lawton, M. P., Moss, M., Fulcomer, M., & Kleban, M. H. (1982). A research and service oriented Multilevel Assessment Instrument.Journal of Gerontology, 37, 91–99.
Martin, E. C. (1990).Personal injury damages law and practice. New York: Wiley Law Publications.
McGowan, D., & O'Hanlon, S. (1992). An attorney's primer on hedonic damages.Trial Lawyer's Guide, 36, 1–43.
McKenzie, D. A. (1991). A proposed prototype for identifying and correcting sources of measurement error in classification systems.Medical Care, 29, 521–530.
Molzof v. United States, 112 S.Ct. 711 (1992). Reversing and remanding 911 F.2d 18 (7th Cir. 1990).
Murray, P. B. (1989). Hedonic damages: Properly a factor within pain and suffering under 42 U.S.C. Section 1983.Northern Illinois University Law Review, 10, 37–67.
Nunnally, J. (1978).Psychometric theory (2nd ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill.
O'Hara, E. A. (1990). Hedonic damages for wrongful death: Are tortfeasers getting away with murder?Georgetown Law Journal, 78, 1687–1721.
O'Sullivan, S. B., & Schmitz, T. J. (Eds.). (1988).Physical rehabilitation: Assessment and treatment (2nd ed.). Philadelphia: Davis.
Parkerson, G. R., Broadhead, W. E., & Tse, C. J. (1990). The Duke Health Profile.Medical Care, 28, 1056–1068.
Shrout, P. E., & Fleiss, J. L. (1979). Intraclass correlations: Uses in assessing rater reliability.Psychological Bulletin, 86, 420–428.
States, J. D., & Viana, D. C. (1990). Injury impairment and disability scales to assess the permanent consequences of trauma.Accident Analysis and Prevention, 22, 151–160.
Tabacchi, T. M. (1991). Hedonic damages: A new trend in compensation?Ohio State Law Journal, 52, 331–349.
Thompson v. National Railroad Passenger Corporation, 621 F.2d 814 (6th Cir. 1980). Cert. denied, 449 U.S. 1035 (1980).
Tupper, D. E., & Cicerone, K. D. (Eds.). (1990).The neuropsychology of everyday life. Boston: Kluwer Academic Publishers.
Turk, D. C., Rudy, T. E., & Stieg, R. L. (1988). The disability determination dilemma: Toward a multiaxial solution.Pain, 34, 217–229.
Valentine, G. L. (1990). Hedonic damages: Emerging issue in personal injury and wrongful death claims.Northern Illinois University Law Review, 10, 543–577.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Additional information
This article is based on the first author's dissertation for which the second author served as chair.
About this article
Cite this article
Andrews, P., Meyer, R.G. & Berla', E.P. Development of the lost pleasure of life scale. Law Hum Behav 20, 99–111 (1996). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01499134
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01499134