Do you want to know the actual worth of a personal injury claim?

We all want to know what influences the settlement for a personal injury claim, because a good settlement can take care of the bills and help us to get our lives back in order.

Unfortunately, the settlement price can greatly vary.

In some cases, the victims may only get a few thousand dollars as the insurance settlement.

In other cases, victims can even get millions of dollars to help them settle down.

In this article, the factors that have been seen to have a major influence on the personal injury settlements have been explained, to help the injury victims to know what to do, to get fair compensation.

Factors Influencing Personal Injury Settlements

Understanding the factors that influence the amount of settlement can greatly help the injury victims.

Factors That Can Influence a Personal Injury Settlement

  • The Severity of the Injury
  • Representation
  • Evidence & Documentation
  • Insurance Policy Limits
  • Comparative Negligence & Fault

Severity of the Injury

The injury itself is the most important factor when it comes to personal injury settlements.

This is because, if the injury is severe, it may take a long time before the victim can recover and go back to work.

It will also mean that, the medical bill will be higher than it will for a minor injury.

This is the reason why most people are very careful to not cause serious injuries to other people.

The following are severities of injuries and their possible values:

  • Minor injuries(whiplash, sprains) – $10,000 to $25,000
  • Moderate injuries(broken bones, surgery) – $25,000 to $100,000
  • Catastrophic injuries(brain, spinal cord) – Can exceed $1 million

Representation

Representation with a professional lawyer is a major factor in the injury claims.

As a matter of fact, research by Nolo has shown that, the settlements of those who are represented by professional attorneys are almost three times as much, as those who are not.

However, even after the deduction of the fees paid to the attorney, the people who were represented by the attorney, still have a better settlement than those who were not represented.

The following are what may happen in either case:

  • About 91% of injury victims who hired attorneys received a payout.
  • Only 51% of the victims received a payout if they were not represented by a professional attorney.

Evidence & Documentation

Evidence and documentation play a critical role in personal injury law. Knowing when to consult an injury attorney early in the process helps victims build the strongest possible case and ensures all evidence is properly preserved.

Insurance Policy Limits

Insurance policy limits is a factor that most people are not aware of.

The insurance policy limit means that, if the insurance company is paying for the victim’s settlement, they can only pay to a certain limit, no matter the injuries, or amount.

The problem with this is if the at-fault party has a limit that is less than the amount of damages and injuries that the victim incurred.

For instance, if the at-fault party had $25,000 as a limit for liability coverage, then they will not have to pay the amount of damages that is not covered by the $25,000.

The following may be the different avenues to which the victim can have as possible sources of compensation:

  • The insurance policy of the at-fault party
  • The insurance policy of the victim (underinsured motorist coverage)
  • Umbrella policy of the defendant
  • Multiple defendants (If more than one defendant was at fault)

Comparative Negligence & Fault

In some cases, the victim and the defendant may both be at fault in the accident. In such a case, the judge or the jury will determine who is at fault and to what extent.

The amount of fault that each party has will determine the amount of settlement they will receive.

For instance, if a victim is entitled to a settlement of $50,000 and was found to be 20% at fault in the accident, then the settlement will be reduced by 20%.

This means that the victim will receive $40,000 instead of the $50,000.

In such states, a victim cannot receive any compensation if they are found to be more than 50% or 51% at fault for the accident.

Due to the fact that in some states, the defendant is also at fault in the accident, it is therefore important to have evidence and a good lawyer to fight for the victim.

This is the only way the fault of the victim can be reduced to the barest minimum.

If the at-fault party has a low liability limit, the fault determination may be important in ensuring that the victim is not left empty-handed.

Also, when it comes to the maximum amount of settlement to which a victim is entitled to, it is important to understand the difference between economic damages and non-economic damages.

Economic and Non-Economic Damages

The damages that the victim incurred are either economic damages or non-economic damages.

Economic damages are the damages that are as a result of the loss of income that the victim had before the accident occurred.

The following are examples of economic damages:

  • Medical Bills
  • Lost wages & earning capacity
  • Property damage
  • Rehabilitation cost

On the other hand, non-economic damages are the damages that are as a result of the injuries that are non-monetary.

The following are examples of non-economic damages:

  • Pain and suffering
  • Emotional distress
  • Loss of enjoyment of life
  • Loss of consortium

The following is how to calculate the settlement value for non-economic damages:

In some cases, non-economic damages are calculated by making use of a multiplier method.

In such a case, the value of the economic damages is multiplied by 1.5 to 5, depending on the seriousness of the case.

For cases that are more serious, the multiplier will be high, while for less serious cases, the multiplier will be lower.

Timeline for Personal Injury Settlements

The most important part that most people do not know about the personal injury settlement is the fact that most cases do not get to the court.

As a matter of fact, it has been proven that about 95% of personal injury cases are not taken to court.

This therefore means that most people want to settle out of court and for a personal injury victim, this is the best place.

However, in such cases where victims settle out of court, they get paid lesser than what they should be entitled to.

As much as 95% of cases are said to be settle, this does not mean that a personal injury victim has to settle immediately he or she receives an offer.

On the other hand, what the victim has to do is to wait until they are at maximum medical improvement before they should accept the settlement from the insurance.

Conclusion

It is important for the injury victims to know that a number of things determine the amount of settlement that they should get for a personal injury settlement.

The most important of it all is the severity of the injury.

This is because a minor injury, as compared to a severe one, should not get the same amount of settlement.

This is the reason why people take so much care when handling other people.

The following are what the victims of personal injury should do in order to get a fair settlement.

  • They should always document every single thing concerning the injury from the day that they get injured.
  • They should know that when the injury is serious, the settlement will also be more than the injury that is not that serious.
  • The victims of the injury should not hesitate to hire an attorney.
  • They should be aware of the insurance policy of the defendant.
  • The victims of injury should not be in a hurry to settle for a personal injury settlement.