Imagine being in a car accident, slip and fall, or pedestrian accident. You incur tens of thousands of medical bills and can’t work. How would you keep your head above water financially?
In every state, you can file a personal injury lawsuit against the liable party when someone suffers an injury because of another person’s negligence. Obtaining compensation depends on proving the other person was negligent. If you do that, you can receive compensation for medical expenses, lost earnings, and pain and suffering.
Many injury victims want to know what their personal injury claim is worth. Keep reading to learn the factors that influence the value of a claim. Then, speak to a personal injury attorney in your area to know if you have a viable claim.
What Is A Personal Injury Claim?
Personal injury is a part of the law that gives the victim of another person’s negligence the ability to sue for their losses and related damages. This part of the law differs from criminal law and deals with many kinds of accidents, including:
Vehicle Accidents
Vehicle accidents occur daily involving cars, commercial trucks, bikes, scooters, and motorcycles. A serious vehicle accident can lead to severe injuries, such as head trauma, spine injuries, broken bones, road rash, internal injuries, and even death.
Motor vehicle accidents are the most common types of claims, accounting for 52 percent of accident injury cases. An accident with a motor vehicle and a pedestrian usually leads to severe injuries, so always retain a skilled car accident attorney to represent you.
Slip and Fall
Property owners must keep their property in a safe environment. You can have a personal injury claim if you are hurt on their property and were not warned about a hazardous condition.
Medical Malpractice
Serious injuries can occur if a doctor or medical facility doesn’t follow the standard of care and injures you. Common medical malpractice claims involve missed diagnoses, incorrect medication, surgical errors, and birth injuries.
Workplace Accidents
Job-related injuries, whether caused by dangerous working conditions or problems with equipment, can cause serious injury or death. You may be entitled to compensation in a workers’ comp claim or possibly a lawsuit if a third party’s negligence caused the accident.
Product Liability
Product manufacturers, designers, and retailers can be held liable if an injury occurs from the product production, design, or failure to warn.
Dog Bites
If a dog bites you, you can receive compensation for your injuries. As long as you were not a trespasser or did something to provoke the animal, a dog bite attorney may get you compensation for medical expenses and more.
Types Of Damages In An Accident Injury Claim
If your personal injury attorney is successful in your claim, you can receive compensation for the damages you suffered. The goal of an accident injury claim is to ‘make you whole’ as you were before the other person injured you.
The following damages are most common in personal injury claims:
- Economic damages: These are damages with an intrinsic financial value. They are the most manageable damages to calculate, including medical expenses, future medical care, lost earnings, reduced earning capacity, and property damage.
- Non-economic damages: These damages are more complicated to calculate and are subjective. They take into account your quality of life after the incident, how your daily life has changed, whether you can work again, and whether you have long-term pain and limitations. They include pain and suffering, mental anguish, loss of enjoyment of life, and loss of consortium.
Non-economic damages are calculated in various ways. Some insurance companies may determine your pain and suffering compensation by multiplying your economic damages by 1 to 5, based on the severity of injuries.
What Factors Influence The Size Of An Accident Injury Claim?
Understanding what your personal injury claim is worth can be challenging because many factors come into play. The factors below will affect your claim’s value. For more information, talk to a personal injury attorney in a free legal consultation:
Severity Of Damages
When you are hurt in a serious accident and need compensation, it’s essential to know that the main driver of its value is the severity of your injuries. A severe injury means that you may have months or years of recovery, and the damage can be permanent in some cases.
In a severe injury claim, serious injuries, such as brain trauma, spinal cord damage, broken bones, or amputations, will lead to a more significant claim than minor cuts and bruises. Severe injuries also may lead to considerable pain and suffering compensation, which drives up the claim’s value.
Medical Expenses
Another major factor in the value of an accident injury claim is the medical bills incurred. Medical expenses usually comprise a significant part of a personal injury settlement because they reflect the severity of your injuries.
Generally, the more serious your injury, the higher the medical expenses and the greater the pain and suffering. For example, suppose you suffered a spine injury in a truck accident. You may incur hundreds of thousands of damages in the first year alone. Then, there will be ongoing medical expenses for years and possibly the rest of your life.
Liability
A critical part of winning a personal injury lawsuit is proving who is at fault for the incident and liable for your losses. If you were in a car crash and the other driver hit you, they will be liable for your damages. However, if you were partially at fault, the claim’s value can be lower.
Pain And Suffering
A severe injury causes more pain and suffering, increasing the size of your settlement or jury award. For example, if you suffered an injury in a fire and have severe burns, you will have major pain and suffering that will result in more compensation.
A Houston personal injury attorney will work with your doctors to document your injuries and the degree of pain and suffering you have and will endure as you recover and receive medical treatments.
Lost Earnings
A severe injury may entitle you to significant compensation for lost earnings. You should receive compensation for all earnings you have lost since the accident until you reach maximum medical recovery.
Also, a severe or permanent injury may entitle you to lost earning capacity compensation. For example, if you have a severe brain injury from a slip and fall, you may be unable to work for the rest of your life. You should be compensated according to your most recent salary or hourly earnings. The amount received for lost earning capacity depends on your previous earnings, education, and career path.
Your personal injury attorney will learn your earnings or salary before the injury. They may retain an economist or occupational expert to calculate your future earnings if you had worked until retirement.
Insurance Availability
The financial recovery from an accident often depends on insurance coverage. Suppose an off-duty Uber driver hits you in a crosswalk, and you break several bones in the impact. You can have six figures of economic and non-economic damages. However, because the driver wasn’t working for Uber at the time of the accident, their personal auto insurance must pay your damages. Many drivers have only minimal coverage, which can be $25,000 or $30,000.
A personal injury attorney in your city can review the claim to determine the type and amount of insurance available to compensate you.
Minor Personal Injuries Can Lead To Major Compensation
Generally, the most severe injuries lead to the most compensation in a personal injury lawsuit. However, don’t think that it isn’t worth filing a claim because you have a ‘minor’ injury. It usually is.
For example, suppose you were rear-ended in traffic on the interstate. The rear driver was distracted by texting, so they are at fault. You have neck and lower back pain, diagnosed as strained soft tissues, including muscles and ligaments.
This is a minor injury, but you can have months of medical bills, lost earnings, and pain and suffering. The pain and discomfort from this injury can make it impossible to dress, walk, or go to the restroom without assistance. You can be out of work for months, too.
This minor injury can also lead to more serious health problems over time. A soft tissue injury to the lower back can make you change how you walk, which can cause more problems with other parts of your body.
You should consult with a personal injury attorney after any accident caused by another party. You may still have a case leading to significant compensation even with a minor injury.
Is Hiring A Personal Injury Attorney Worth It?
You gain several benefits from hiring a personal injury attorney after an accident. You’ll have a person to navigate the complex legal and insurance systems, ensuring you know your rights and legal options and present your claim in the most favorable light.
Additional benefits of retaining an attorney for your accident injury claim are:
- Experience reviewing claims: No attorney can guarantee a specific outcome to a case, but your personal injury lawyer knows the laws and procedures in your area and can opine if you have a case and what it may be worth.
- Legal system knowledge: Most injury victims don’t have experience with the legal system when they want to file a claim or lawsuit. An experienced attorney will help deal with the complex legal system and the actions of insurance companies or defense attorneys.
- Dealing with insurance companies: Insurance investigators have their methods and rationales and usually want to pay you as little as possible. You can find it hard to communicate with the insurance company without damaging your case. Your attorney knows how to communicate with insurance adjusters, protect the claim, and present your case most favorably.
- Resources to investigate the claim: Personal injury lawyers have various investigative methods and resources that can be vital when investigating the case. They may have technical tools to find substantial evidence you don’t know about. They can also retain legal, medical, and accident reconstruction experts to build a convincing case.
You may wonder how your attorney is compensated and whether what they are paid will lead to less money for you. Personal injury attorneys are paid by a contingency agreement when the case is resolved. Most personal injury claims are settled out of court, but your attorney may recommend going to court if the insurance company does not offer fair compensation for your injuries.
Most personal injury attorneys receive between 33 percent and 40 percent of your settlement or jury award. However, you should review your attorney’s compensation contract before having them represent you.
Most personal injury victims are pleased to find out that personal injury attorneys usually get them more money than they can have without legal representation, even with the contingency fee.
How Long To Resolve An Accident Injury Claim?
Most people injured in an accident want to quickly resolve the case and receive compensation. How long the case takes depends on many factors. For example, a severe injury case with several liable parties can take a year or more to settle. Personal injury claims typically take a few months to a year to resolve.
A case that goes to court can take up to two years to resolve. You should carefully consider whether it’s worth filing a lawsuit and going to court. You can end up with more money than in a settlement, but you also can lose and get nothing.
Your personal injury lawyer will assess your claim and advise whether to take the best settlement offer or go to court.
Speak To A Personal Injury Attorney Now
You have a pile of medical bills and are out of work after a serious injury. Another person caused the accident due to their negligence. Today, you need an experienced personal injury attorney to fight for the most compensation and protect your legal rights. Contact a personal injury attorney in your area for a free consultation.