How much is my personal injury case worth?
The value of your claim depends on a variety of factors related to the accident, particularly the nature and severity of your injuries and losses and the amount of insurance limits. Because each situation is different, compensation can vary widely from one case to another.
Some key factors that influence how a claim is evaluated include:
- Severity of the injury – More serious injuries lead to higher medical costs, longer recovery periods, extra lost income, and a greater impact on your daily life. Injuries that cause lasting impairment or permanent limitations may also increase the potential value of a claim.
- Medical treatment and expenses – The cost of hospital visits, surgeries, rehabilitation, medications, and follow-up care can play a large role in how much compensation you receive. Your claim may also need to cover anticipated future medical needs.
- Lost income and reduced earning ability – If the injury caused you to miss work or limits your ability to earn income in the future, your claim may include those financial losses. This is much easier if your doctor writes you out of work.
- Pain and suffering – Physical pain, emotional distress, and the overall disruption the injury caused in your life can also influence the value of your case. This is best proven by your medical records where your doctor should document all the details of the pain and distress you describe to him/her.
- Available insurance limits – Compensation in many cases depends in part on the insurance policies available to cover the losses. Experience shows that people with sufficient assets to pay a large claim typically have plenty of liability insurance. On the other hand, people who are “judgment proof” have little incentive to buy more insurance than the law requires.
