After an accident, you’ll be left with bills to pay for your medical treatment, doctor’s visits, and more. As your bills accumulate, you’ll wonder how much your personal injury case is going to be. To be honest, there’s no formula that can precisely envisage how much your case might be worth. Each personal injury case varies from the other, which means every case is unique. It also means that yours would be different from other victims because it depends on a case-to-case basis. Like any other law firm, personal injury lawyers at ODG Law can only provide an approximate and not the exact amount.
What is Personal Injury?
A personal injury is any injury an individual suffers due to someone else’s negligence, affecting the mind, body, and emotions. It also includes wrongful death or circumstances where injuries prove life-threatening. It falls under the coverage of Personal Injury Law or Tort Law.
Personal Injury Law protects a victim who suffered harm or injury due to another person’s negligence or failure to act responsibly. In a successful tort action, the defendant compensates the plaintiff.
This law applies to any injury that the defendant has caused the victim whether it’s due to negligence, intentional, or an action under strict liability. It covers any scenario in which the following occurs:
Physical, Mental, or Reputational Injury. This is a state wherein a person suffers injury physically, mentally, or emotionally.
Wrongful Accusation. The injury was unjustifiably caused by another individual in the law’s eyes.
Levels of Wrongful Conduct
There are various degrees of wrongful conduct that result in accountability based on the following situations:
Daily Situations (Negligence)
Generally, the law would ask the victim if the defendant is negligent, which caused his (victim) injury. Negligence is also a way of stating “careless,” or inadequately use of ordinary care or concern.
Special Situations (Recklessness)
There are a few cases when a person suffers an injury, involving authorities such as policemen or firefighters driving to emergency incidents. The law will ask the victim if the officer acted “recklessly” that might have caused the injury. In other words, did the officers disregard your safety?
Intentional Injurious Acts
Deliberate acts which caused the victim harm or injury enables the victim to recover damages. An example of such an intentional act is getting punched in the face deliberately making your nose bleed without any explanation.
How Much is Your Case Worth?
As mentioned earlier, the amount of compensation that victims receive will vary depending on several factors. It includes:
- Your accident’s information or particulars
- The expanse of your injuries
- Your insurance coverage, including the defendant’s policy for your injury
- Pieces of evidence, and more
How to Determine the Value of Your Case?
The value of your case is decided by evaluating the legal concept called “damages.” These types of damages vary from one case to another and are used to determine the amount of compensation you’ll receive for your range of losses. Hiring a knowledgeable Los Angeles personal injury lawyer will review your case to identify what damages are applicable.
Economic damages are measurable losses that cover property damage and personal injuries. It also includes monetary factors, involving lost salaries and medical treatment expenses. You’ll also get compensation for your pain and suffering. These are called general damages which don’t involve a specific dollar amount.
Your hired lawyer will analyze your case and provides an approximate amount. However, it’s the court or jury that decides how much your compensation would be. Besides, there are other factors that need consideration. These include:
- The plaintiff’s (victim) quality of living
- Fault
- Insurance coverage
- Court or jury’s decision or verdict
Personal Injury Lawyers: How Do Insurance Companies Determine the Value of Your Claim?
Insurance companies or claims adjusters consolidate a list of all of the different types of damages you suffered. As soon as they have the list of your damages, they will decide on an overall value utilizing their damages formula. It helps them establish a value on non-economic damages.
Generally, they calculate the value of non-economic damages by multiplying the value of medical expenses multiplied by a number, according to the seriousness of your injuries. In case you are partially at fault, the insurance company will reduce the amount comparable to your percentage of fault.
However, the amount they will tell you is not necessarily the same amount that they will give you. Most often than not, the amount they will offer you is way lower than the amount that you must receive, especially when you have nothing to do with the accident.
Let ODG Law Help with Your Personal Injury Claim
Filing a claim for a personal injury requires a lot of time, presentation of documents and pieces of evidence, and more. Our expert personal injury lawyers at ODG Law will make the process less burdensome for you. We’ll serve as your legal representative and walk you through the legal process.
Contact ODG Law and let us help with your personal injury claim to prevent issues. Besides, we’ll help maximize and speed up your compensation. Schedule a free case evaluation with us and let’s talk about your case at no obligation. Call (818) 975-3080 or email us.
