After an accident injures you, you may feel the surmounting pressure of medical bills and other expenses piling up. It may leave you questioning—how much is an accident injury claim worth? The good news is personal injury lawyers offer free case evaluations to discuss a plan to recover your expenses.
However, there is no way to provide concrete numbers on what to expect. Things like accident type, severity of injuries, length of treatment, and the location of your accident all influence how much an accident injury claim is worth. Consult a Winder personal injury attorney to discuss your legal right to financial compensation.
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Types of Personal Injury Accidents
You can file an accident injury claim after many types of accidents if you incur medical bills, income losses, and pain and suffering.
Standard areas of personal injury law include:
- Medical malpractice
- Nursing home negligence
- Wrongful death
- Car accidents
- Truck accidents
- Motorcycle accidents
- Traumatic brain injuries (TBIs)
- Slip and fall accidents
- Premises liability
When choosing a personal injury lawyer to represent your accident injury claim, choose one with experience in your accident type. For example, medical malpractice claims involve many case complexities. You wouldn't want an attorney whose primary focus is mass torts—and vice versa.
Come to your free case evaluation prepared with questions about whether the firm has handled cases like yours before and if they have trial experience with your accident type. You need a lawyer who answers both those questions with a resounding—yes.
Factors Influencing How Much an Accident Injury Claim Is Worth
The cost of your medical bills, lost income, property damages, and pain and suffering significantly impact the value of an accident injury claim.
Other key factors influencing how much your claim is worth are:
- Liability: The degree of liability significantly impacts the value of your accident injury claim. There may be a higher claim value in cases involving multiple liable parties.
- Severity of Injuries: The more severe your injuries are, the higher you can anticipate your compensation claim. The severity of injuries directly affects the length of your recovery time and how they may impact your future. Longer recovery times generally amount to substantial healthcare costs and income losses.
- Insurance Policy Limits: Insurance coverage is another critical component of how much an accident injury claim is worth. How much you may secure in a settlement depends on the at-fault party's insurance policy limits.
- Evidence and Documentation: The quality and amount of evidence involved directly affect the worth of an accident injury claim. Cases with substantial documentation and evidence generally settle for more. Evidence influencing claim value includes police reports, medical records, witness statements and testimony, video and photo evidence of the accident scene and injuries, and documents demonstrating financial loss.
Your economic losses are a significant factor in valuing your claim. The higher your financial losses, the more substantial the settlement. Your economic losses help determine your non-economic damages.
Using the multiplier method, your accident attorney will multiply your economic damages by a number. The multiplier number is based on the severity of your injuries and their impacts on your life.
There are no damage caps on economic damages. However, state jurisdiction and accident type, such as medical malpractice, may impose damage caps on non-economic losses. Ask your personal injury lawyer to clarify local regulations.
Damages Affecting How Much an Accident Injury Claim Is Worth
Determining the worth of your accident injury claim means valuing your economic and non-economic damages, also known as compensatory damages. These damages may include healthcare expenses, lost earnings, property damages, and pain and suffering.
Healthcare Expenses
Healthcare expenses are a key component of how much an accident injury claim is worth. Injured parties should not be responsible for absorbing these costs.
Healthcare expenses your attorney will demand compensation for include:
- Emergency services (ambulance, ER visits)
- Surgical and post-op care
- Medical expenses
- Rehabilitation costs
- Mental health services
- Disability expenses (home and vehicle modifications, assistive devices)
To prove healthcare expenses, provide your personal injury lawyer with copies of all healthcare bills, including hospital stays, urgent care, surgeries, rehabilitation care, primary care, mental health services, and disability costs. Keep receipts for out-of-pocket expenses, such as copay and prescription medications.
Lost Earnings
When accident injury victims miss work due to injuries and recovery, return to work in a lesser capacity than before the accident, or are unable to return to work, there are income losses your attorney can recover.
Examples of lost income involve:
- Hourly income or annual salary
- Lost overtime
- Lost opportunities for non-salary compensation (tips, commissions, bonuses)
- Lost benefits (health, retirement, pension)
- Lost sick leave, vacation days, and paid time off (PTO)
- Lost job opportunities and promotions
- Diminished earning capacity
- Lost earning capacity
Pay stubs, bank statements, and tax returns can prove lost earnings. You can also secure a lost income statement from your employer verifying your income losses. You should provide your attorney with copies of these important documents to ensure maximum compensation.
Property Damages
Property damages include damages to all personal property damaged or destroyed in the accident. These damages may include vehicle repairs, rental car costs, rideshare services, car seats, cell phones, and portable electronic devices.
They may also damage residential or commercial buildings, mailboxes, fences, gardens, and landscaping.
Pain and Suffering
Pain and suffering refers to your non-economic damages sustained in an accident.
Examples of pain and suffering your personal injury lawyer may secure compensation for are:
- Acute and chronic pain conditions
- Mental suffering
- Physical impairments (loss of a limb, hearing or vision loss)
- Scarring, disfigurement, or loss of bodily function
- Loss of reputation
- Embarrassment or humiliation
- Decreased quality of life
- Mental health challenges of the injury (depression, anxiety, PTSD)
- Loss of society and companionship
- Loss of consortium
Medical records, physician notes, expert testimony, and a pain journal can document pain and suffering. Injured parties should journal pain levels, location and duration, activities that worsen or improve pain, and sleep disturbances. Writing about how the accident and injuries affect your daily life and emotional state helps prove non-economic damages.
Schedule a Free Case Evaluation
Do you want to know how much your accident injury claim is worth? Consult a Winder personal injury attorney to discuss your case.