How much is a personal injury case typically worth in a settlement?
Personal injuries involve very complex components such as pain, suffering, emotional turmoil, long-term physical disabilities, loss of a previous quality of life, and other factors that can impact you for the rest of your life. For these reasons, it is very difficult to put a price tag on your compensation for a personal injury claim.
However, there are some factors that you should consider when determining how much your personal injury claim is worth.
Tips for Calculating How Much Your Personal Injury Case is Worth
- Before you put a monetary value on the cost of your personal injury case, consider the following:
- Lost Wages. If you missed work due to your injuries, the amount of your total lost wages should be included in your settlement. In addition, you need to consult your physician to help determine if and to what extent your injuries will impact your ability to perform your job duties in the future. If you will be unable to work, you must calculate your yearly wages multiplied by the number of years left until your retirement (or whenever you planned to stop working a public job).
- Loss of Activity. Oftentimes, a personal injury not only affects your ability to perform your job duties, it affects your ability to perform daily activities, such as cutting the lawn, changing the oil in the car, going grocery shopping, or vacuuming the carpet. In many cases, you will need to hire someone to perform these activities for you for a period of time, or possibly for the rest of your life. Calculate this labor cost and add it to your settlement value.
- Medical Bills. While most people have some form of health insurance, there are likely to be co-pays, non-covered items, and deductibles that need to be paid in order to receive medical care for your personal injury. You may also need to calculate the cost of visiting a psychologist or counselor to deal with the added stress and adjustment to your injuries. Don’t forget to calculate the cost of any medications you will need to take on a long-term basis as a result of your personal injury.
- Travel Expenses. You should also include transportation costs to and from medical appointments, the drugstore, and your lawyer’s office.
- Lawyer Fees. Keep in mind that your lawyer may receive a percentage of your settlement as compensation for trying your case. Add these fees to the total sum of your settlement also.
- Phone Calls. When involved in a personal injury case, you are likely to find it necessary to make and receive many phone calls. Log these calls and include them in the cost of your settlement.
- Pain and Suffering. This is one area that is difficult to determine a monetary value for compensation. The best way to determine a dollar amount for your pain and suffering is to consider the seriousness of your injuries and to what degree the injuries impact quality of life. Consider how your injuries affect the quality of your relationships with your friends and family. Keep in mind that the amount collected is payment for pain and suffering from the time of the accident, until you take your last breath.
Calculating the total monetary value for your personal injury case is often a difficult task, but these tips can help serve as a guideline for computing the true impact of your personal injury.
IF YOU, OR A LOVED ONE, HAVE BEEN SERIOUSLY INJURED IN AN ACCIDENT – CALL TODAY FOR A FREE CONSULTATION!
