One of the most frequent questions we hear from accident victims: How much is my personal injury claim worth? No amount of money awarded in a personal injury claim will be enough to pay for the injuries sustained in an accident. Money simply does not mend broken bones, it does not restore feelings of self worth or take away a disability. And certainly, no amount of money will be able to stop the grief you and your family experience after the wrongful death of someone that you love. However, a few factors tentatively calculate the value of a personal injury claim.
Personal Injury Claim Factors
There is no number we can give because each case is individual and there are many deciding factors that often need to be calculated before even a rough estimate can even be given. A personal injury calculator does not exist because the circumstances of each injury and accident are unique. Even when an your attorney calculates an estimated amount, no personal injury claim amount can ever be guaranteed. However, some of the major variables taken into consideration for each personal injury claim.
Who was at Fault?
The question of blame and fault is one of the first things to consider when trying to calculate the value of your personal injury claim. In most cases, claimants believe that they are not liable for their injuries. While this may be the case, there are many factors that go into determining degrees of liability. While the answer may seem clear to you, it is not always easy to determine who was at fault and to what degree of responsibility for the damages incurred. For example, different standards will if the harm was caused unintentionally rather than recklessly or with malice.
Does the Responsible Party Carry Insurance?
Even if liability can be established in your personal injury claim, the financial status of the at-fault party will be taken into consideration. If the person liable for the accident and subsequent injury / death of the victim has an insurance policy with a $300,000 limit, then your personal injury claim compensation will not be more than $300,000. If the at-fault party does not carry insurance, it will be very difficult to recover any substantial compensation. The next thing to consider is your own insurance company. You may be able to recover damages if you have uninsured / underinsured motorist coverage.
Severity of the Injury
In all personal injury cases it is important to keep documentation of your injuries for future use in your personal injury claim. This means you should keep records of all doctor visits, medical records, hospital bills and prescription costs. If you sustained severe injuries, you need to hire an attorney to help you determine the long term cost of your injury. We also try to collect compensation for long term care. If your injury is minor and has no long term effect, the amount you recover may be lower than you had hope for.
Effects of the Injury
The amount of your personal injury claim will also determine by how the accident and subsequent injuries. The consider the following:
- Can you continue to perform everyday activities?
- What recovery time associated with your injuries?
- Have you lost wages because you were unable to work due to your injuries?
- Will you be able to return to work after you recover from your injuries?
- Your age and life expectancy before the injury occurred
Personal Injury Claim Attorney
Although most attorneys will charge similar fees, not all of them get the same results. If your attorney can’t establish that the other party liability for your injuries, you may not recover any damages for your personal injury claim.
You want to make sure that you hire someone with a proven track record. Lerner and Rowe Injury Attorneys currently have offices in Oregon, Washington, California, Nevada, New Mexico, Michigan, Tennessee, Indiana, Arizona and Illinois. We also know state and local laws and insurance carrier policies. We will help you to calculate the estimated value of your personal injury claim.
Consultations at Lerner and Rowe Injury Attorneys are free and confidential. We do not collect any fees unless we recover damages in your personal injury claim.
Our office hours range from 8:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m. Monday through Friday, and we also answer our phones at 844-977-1900 24/7. You can reach us through our online form or our LiveChat service. So don’t wait! We look forward to hearing from you.