How Is The Worth Of My Personal Injury Case Determined?

The worth of your personal injury case will be determined based upon two main factors: liability and damages. In other words, your bodily injury claim and damage claim will be evaluated first upon fault – that is to say, you must prove that your damages were the fault of the other party. Once fault has been established, your damages will be evaluated to establish the amount of compensation you should receive for your injuries and losses, both economic and non-economic.

The main questions in valuing your losses will be: What is the nature of your injury? What kind of medical care did you need? How much are your medical bills? Did you need surgery or other invasive medical care? Were you hospitalized? Were you able to work or were you disabled from doing your job? How much income did you lose? Will you continue to lose income in the future? Did your injuries resolve or will you continue to suffer from your injuries in the future? How did your injuries affect your life, both personally and in your livelihood?

An injury that is resolved has a lower value than an injury that is going to be permanent. An injury that was resolved with care like physical therapy, or chiropractic care and medications will have a lower value than an injury that required more invasive care like pain management, epidural injections, or surgery. Having residual physical impairment raises the value of a claim. Disfigurement is a long-term injury that can have a very high value. Scarring can carry an extremely high value as well. Long-term injuries that prevent you from engaging in your occupation, or if you can’t compete in the job market are considered high value. Preexisting conditions are also considered in evaluating your claim. Having pre-existing conditions that make you more susceptible to injury from a collision can explain why you were injured or why you were injured so seriously. Pre-existing conditions are important for your doctor and your lawyer so they can understand your injuries and better care for you and your claim.

It’s important that your doctor is aware of any pre-existing conditions so that he or she can properly treat you and establish why you were injured. Preexisting injuries are not something to hide or ignore. We embrace pre-existing injuries because they can act to amplify the injuries you suffered and the consequences of those injuries on your life. This can increase the value of the claim We strongly recommended you tell your lawyer and doctors about any pre-existing injuries or other conditions that may affect your injuries in a claim. If you don’t, it undermines your credibility and the credibility of your doctors.

Will The At-Fault Driver Pay For All Of My Medical Bills?

Yes, the at-fault driver would be responsible for all of your medical bills, along with all of your other losses. You still need to prove that your medical care was necessary due to the collision and that the medical bills were reasonable. But you also need to consider, especially in a serious injury case, the defendant’s ability to pay. That means looking into the amount of insurance the defendant carried. If the defendant has insufficient insurance to cover your damages, we need to look into the defendant’s assets or whether the defendant was acting as an employee for an employer or acting as an agent for someone else at the time of the collision. You can take a defendant to court, whether it’s small claims court for a very small case or superior court for a serious injury case. You can go to court, win, and get a judgment stating how much the defendant owes you. But, that’s just a piece of paper that says the defendant owes you money. Collecting on it is what counts. Thus, you need to determine the defendant’s insurance, and the defendant’s ability to pay for your damages.

All cases need to be investigated. If the defendant’s insurance policy is not big enough to cover all of the client’s damages, it is necessary to look for other sources of recovery. Uninsured motorist coverage, group medical insurance, medical payments coverage under your own insurance policy and the defendant’s employment are all possible sources of recovery.

For more information on Determining Worth Of A Personal Injury Claim, a personalized consultation is your next best step. Get the information and legal answers you are seeking by calling (818) 530-1770 today.