If you have recently suffered injuries due to an accident, medical malpractice, slip and fall, or something else, you deserve compensation for your injuries. But exactly how much are personal injury claims worth?
The value of a personal injury claim payout can vary hugely, depending on factors like what occurred, the nature of your injury and if there are likely long-term consequences or a permanent disability, did it render you unable to return to work and support your family, and any recent payouts for similar claims awarded by the courts.
The first step in negotiating a settlement for a personal injury claim is calculating a reasonable amount of money you would accept. Most insurance companies and personal injury attorneys come up with a value and starting point for settlement talks for your claim by using formulas. A common formula will employ a multiplier with your medical expenses to estimate non-economic damages, which refers to your pain and suffering. This figure is then added to your economic losses, such as medical bills, property damage, and lost income. This will bring you to a dollar amount from which negotiations can start.
The Factors that Determine the Value of Personal Injury Claims
Below is a list of factors that your personal injury attorney will use to assess your claim’s value. These are based on your suffering injuries through no fault of your own.
Medical Bills and Costs
These will include your past and future medical treatments, including adaptive medical devices, pain management therapies, physical therapy, and transportation to your doctor.
Lost Income
If your injury forces you to miss work, you should be compensated for the wages you lost while you were recovering. If you suffer a permanent injury, you should be compensated for 100 percent of your lost wages. And if you can only work again in a diminished capacity, you should be paid for the difference between what you earned before and after the injury.
Pain and Suffering
This amount is based on a formula. Insurers will use ‘pain multipliers’ to multiply your actual economic loss by a designated number to estimate your pain and suffering damages.
Emotional Distress
It’s not unheard of to suffer from insomnia, depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder, and such issues resulting from an injury or accident. You deserve compensation for these mental injuries as well.
Comparative Negligence
Your claim’s value will be taken into account if you were partially to blame for your accident or injuries, and the damage claim will then be reduced by the percentage of fault you bear. Unfortunately, if you are found to be 51 percent or more at fault, you will recover nothing.
Insurance Limits
It’s the at-fault party’s insurance coverage that usually covers your costs and losses in a personal injury claim. The unfortunate thing is that insurers will pay only up to the policy limits. That means if the at-fault party has a $150,000 limit, that’s the amount they will pay and no more – even if a jury awards you $200,000 in damages.
A Personal injury Attorney Can Help Value Your Claim
Your personal injury lawyer will help you through the tricky procedures of gathering evidence and medical records, employment records, and other paperwork needed to establish damages. Your personal injury attorney can also confer with medical experts, economists, and others to evaluate the full extent of past and future losses in your case. And they know the rules for issues such as mental duress, pain and suffering, and medical expenses for future care.
Getting adequate compensation for your injury is vital so you can move on with your life with the money you need to afford your medical care and pay your other expenses. If you have a definite idea of what your claim is worth, you won’t accept less than you deserve. A personal injury lawyer can help you to determine what you should receive for your injury claim.
Trying to file a claim without legal support isn’t recommended. You may end up with a much lower payout than your claim is worth or, even worse, find that your claim is rejected for technical reasons or inadequate preparation and evidence. Don’t lose out on the compensation you are entitled to due to a paperwork oversight, a loophole, or a minor technicality.
Having an accomplished personal injury lawyer is crucial when it comes to identifying error and authenticating liability.
Contact the Experts
As a client of the Law Offices of David Kohm, we want to assure you that we will handle your legal matters with the utmost discretion and privacy. Our focus is to help you reach a quick and financially beneficial solution to your legal matters.
Call our law offices today at any of our convenient locations and get a free consultation.
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