A personal injury lawsuit against someone or against an insurance company has many intricate variables that decide how much, if any, a person should be paid in compensation for pain and suffering.
An injury claim is difficult to have a dollar value placed on it because it’s not always a cut-and-dry situation of someone being 100-percent at fault, and the costs being completely transparent on how an injury would affect someone’s future ability to earn money.
Every single case is different, which means it’s tough to place a standard compensation number on a personal injury settlement. A Fort Worth personal injury attorney, like the ones found at Fears Nachawati, will help you sort out what type of compensation you should be asking for in your personal injury case.
7 Factors Affecting the Value of Your Personal Injury Settlement
There are actually dozens of variables for how much compensation you should receive in a personal injury settlement, but we came up with these seven factors we believe are among the most important.
Where the Lawsuit is Filed
Depending on where the case is heard, different cities or counties could place a higher value on different factors, like suffering. The location where the suit is heard could also affect whether you’ll be offered an out-of-court settlement, especially if your area often rewards large settlements to personal injury plaintiffs in similar cases.
Precedence In a Similar Case
Courts like to use precedence because it saves time and it makes sense that if a similar case has already been argued, then most of their work is already done. Past verdicts in personal injury cases could help a jury or judge lean a certain way to justify their own compensation rewards for a personal injury.
Shared Fault?
Even after a judge or jury decides on how much a personal injury should be compensated, they might adjust that amount based on several other factors, including how much they deem you were at fault for the cause of the injury. Shared fault would decrease.
Details Surrounding Medical Expenses
Not only does the timing of your medical treatment and when you filed a claim make a big difference in your settlement, but with whom you sought medical help from counts, too. If you used a clinic that seems to always provide treatment to accident victims, then they’re likely inflating their costs, as they expect lawsuit compensation to pay for it.
Multiple Victims
Perhaps you’ve been involved in an accident with a few other people, which means multiple claims are being filed against one entity for compensation. The maximum coverage on insurance policies could be reached quickly, which means plaintiffs will then have to turn against each other to prove who deserves a larger portion of that compensation.
Hard Injuries
If you’re getting treated for “hard injuries,” that means you’ve dealt with things like bone fractures, head injuries, spinal injuries and nerve damage. These are treated more seriously in a personal injury case because medical diagnostic scans, like X-rays and MRIs, can prove the damage that has been done.
Amount of Liability Evidence
Your ability to prove your injuries were the fault of someone else is paramount in getting compensated for pain and suffering. Your personal injury attorney should gather evidence for your side, while the insurance company finds details to help their side.
Come talk to Fears Nachawati if you’re in need a Fort Worth personal injury attorney. They have years of experience in this realm, and they’ll help you figure out what kind of compensation you should seek. Give them a call at (817) 230-4750, or come down to their offices on Main Street in downtown Fort Worth. You can also visit their offices in Austin, Dallas, Houston and San Antonio, as well as their offices in Denver and Tampa.