What Determines the Value of Your Personal Injury Case?

The golden question, right? This dictates:

• TL;DR: Whether you will be able to pay your out of pocket expenses.

• If your pain and suffering will be fairly compensated.

The same factors that determine the speed of a personal injury lawsuit also guide us in evaluating the value of your claim. Here are the most critical ones:

1. Liability Plays a Role

• Do you have any fault or comparative fault?

• If so, your recovery can be reduced by your share of the fault.

2. Available Insurance Policy

• Does the value of your damages exceed the insurance policy?

  • In such cases, you are often limited to recovering the policy’s maximum amount.

• Is there a larger policy available?

  • With larger policies, you may recover significantly more for the same injury and damages.

3. Economic Damages

What are your quantifiable financial losses?

• Medical bills (including what insurance didn’t cover).

• Out of pocket costs.

• Lost wages, both past and future.

4. Pain and Suffering

How have your injuries affected your life?

• What has been taken from you as a result of the accident?

• What activities can’t you do the same anymore?

• This includes loss of enjoyment of life.

This is not a mathematical formula, and it’s something I always ensure juries are comfortable analyzing to place a fair value on.

5. Appellate Court Guidelines

• Our justice system is based on precedent.

• Appellate Courts set guidelines for what is “sustainable” for a given injury, particularly for pain and suffering.

• This typically comes into play after a trial verdict rather than a settlement:

  • At trial, an objective jury, not an insurance adjuster, reviews the facts and works to make the plaintiff whole again.

  • Fair juries aim to properly compensate the injured party, unlike insurance companies.

Now you have some background on the factors that determine the value of your case. Having a knowledgeable and proactive attorney to guide you through these complexities can make all the difference.

If you were hurt in New York, contact Segal Law Firm for a free case evaluation. There is no fee unless we win.

If this was helpful, keep going with Understanding Damages in a Personal Injury Lawsuit and You Do Not Need to Get Hurt First. Set Up a Free 5-Minute Call With Segal Law Firm Today..

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