The Value of a Personal Injury Claim
Personal Injury » The Value of a Personal Injury Claim Personal Injury If you have been involved in any type of accident, whether it involves a vehicle, slip and fall, defective product, or medical malpractice, it is important to ensure that you receive appropriate compensation for your injuries. This compensation may be replacement wages, or settlement for harm caused. However, the only effective way to do that is by filing a personal injury lawsuit. When it comes to calculating the value of a personal injury settlement, you will need to consider the different variables at play. It is important to realize that multiple factors play a role in the claims process, and each one has an effect on how everything turns out. You should take the opportunity to consult a reputable Houston injury lawyer to make sure that you receive compensation for your injuries.
What Factors Affect the Value of Your Injury Claim?
If you have been involved in an accident that was another party’s fault and are injured, you are entitled to appropriate compensation. There are several types of damages that may be relevant during a case. You might receive compensation without necessarily having to fight for it, but this is not always the case. That’s why it is important to have a firm representing you that will properly assess the value of your claim based on the following variables:
Medical Fees The first key consideration likely to affect your claim’s value is the medical fees incurred in your treatment. It may include the cost of medical treatment, therapy, adaptive medical devices, specific pain medication, as well as transportation to and from the doctor’s office/hospital. Medical costs will definitely accumulate, and you will want any expenses to be refunded. The same applies to a permanent injury and all the costs associated with it.
Pain and Suffering If a person suffers mentally or emotionally from the injuries inflicted in the accident, they will want to be compensated for that pain and suffering. This is part of the non-economic personal injury damages that you can seek in your claim. The amount of compensation you seek in your personal injury settlement for pain and suffering will largely depend on the effect the accident has on your quality of life.. Some settlements may run into the thousands of dollars. Consulting an attorney would help immensely.
Special Damages compensate the injured person based on losses incurred through the defendant’s actions. Due to the nature of special damages, there’s no one-size-fits-all solution. In most cases, a personal injury case with special damages is likely to take into account the unique conditions of that case. These special damages aren’t as simple to calculate as general damages and usually require a bit more effort. Special damages may include things like medical expenses, lost wages, or even replacement or repair of property damaged.
Punitive Damages These are typically awarded alongside other parts of the settlement, never as a standalone sum of money. They are intended to ensure that the defendant doesn’t repeat their action and no one else follows their example. The additional money that punitive damages provide can help a plaintiff recover from the wrongdoing. Punitive damages typically come from actions that are grossly negligent or intentionally done to cause harm.
A clear example of non-economic damages you can seek for your pain and suffering can be something as simple as Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) . Loss of consortium is another type of general, non-economic damage that may be brought against a defendant. Medical malpractice claims usually have general, special, and punitive damages as part of the settlement. If you want to know whether you are entitled to non-economic damages such as pain and suffering, you need to get in touch with a Houston injury lawyer..
Key Variables That May Impact the Value of Your Claim
Here are other additional variables lawyers may use in determining the value of your claim:
Comparative Negligence states that once an accident happens, each party’s negligence is based upon their respective contributions to the accident and the resulting injuries. It is often used by insurance companies to throw the blame onto you so that they don’t have to pay so much for your claim. An insurance adjuster is typically used to calculate these claims.
For instance, say that you are held 30% responsible for the accident, and the gross damages are set at $100,000. Based on comparative negligence, you will be required to cover at least $30,000 in damages out of the $100,000. The other party will cover the rest.
Under the comparative negligence rules, if you are over 50 percent responsible for the accident that caused the injuries, you aren’t entitled to any compensation. Please note that while Texas follows this comparative negligence model, not every state does. In this model, settlements are done on percentage of fault. Most personal injury law firms understand the nuances of the model. Make sure to speak with a local personal injury attorney who knows the negligence laws in your state Insurance Limits Insurance companies have specific limits in place regarding the total amount of compensation that can be paid out. This insurance coverage will depend on your insurance policy. It is important to consider those two because there are policy limits when it comes to such accidents. For instance, the insurance company may only be willing to pay $100,000 of the damages based on its policy limits, even though the court set the reward at $125,000. The at-fault party would ve liable for paying those fees, and their insurance premiums may increase as a result.
Many people wouldn’t be able to claim the remainder from the at-fault party since it will cost more.. Insurance firms go to the extreme to ensure their clients aren’t considered the at-fault party. Thus, it can make it difficult to obtain the compensation you are rightfully entitled to even though the court has awarded it. In such a scenario, it would be rather challenging to move forward with your claim, which is why you need to hire a personal injury lawyer.
Why Should You Hire a Houston Injury Lawyer for Your Claim?
When it comes to filing a personal injury claim following your accident and the resulting injuries, it is critical that you take the proper steps, one of which is consulting the relevant lawyers. Time is of the essence in this filing to ensure you don’t run a foil of the statute of limitations. To ensure that everything is done right, you should consider hiring a Houston injury lawyer to help you with your claim. The lawyer will offer legal representation and ensure that you receive the compensation you are rightfully entitled to.
You will want to first consult a qualified personnel injury law firm in Texas and ensure that you get started immediately. McDonald Worley can quickly move forward with your claim. Contact us today for your free consultation and to get started.