FAQs Page

What is my personal injury case worth?

This is probably the most often asked question in a personal injury case. The basic truth of the matter is that while an attorney may be able to give you a general ballpark figure early on, it is nothing more than an educated guess. The reason an attorney can’t be specific early in the case is that the attorney needs to know a lot more about a case than the basics. Below is a list of many, but not all, of the factors that go into developing how much a case is worth.

In a traditional personal injury case, such as a car accident, the injured person who is not primarily at fault (the plaintiff), will seek the assistance of an attorney. That attorney, after being retained, will conduct an investigation into the facts of the case, to determine how much the case is worth.

Some of the factors include:

• Is the plaintiff believable?
• Did the plaintiff have a pre-existing injury?
• Did the plaintiff suffer an independent injury after the first injury?
• Were there any permanent injuries?
• How severe are the injuries?
• Was there any scarring or permanent disfigurement?
• Can it be proven that the other party (defendant) was negligent (at fault)?
• Was the plaintiff partially at fault?
• Does the defendant have adequate insurance coverage or assets of their own to collect in the event of a favorable jury verdict?
• How much are the plaintiff’s medical bills, lost wages, and out of pocket expenses?
• How much will future lost wages be?

If the plaintiff is still receiving medical treatment, then medical bills can also be hard to figure. Until the plaintiff reaches what is called “Maximum Medical Improvement” (MMI)(which means the person is as good as they’re going to get, even if they haven’t fully recovered), it is difficult to figure out damages. That is why it is often better to wait until the plaintiff has reached Maximum Medical Improvement before settling a case. Once MMI is achieved, it is easy to figure past medical expenses and hopefully the doctors can calculate what percentage of permanent injury has been sustained, if any.

There are many other factors that will also go into determining what a fair settlement will be.

If the plaintiff’s attorney and the insurance company for the defendant can not reach a settlement that the plaintiff agrees to, then the case will ultimately go to trial and a jury will decide.

While the above example deals with a car accident, it is similar for other types of negligence, such as medical malpractice, defective products, dog bites, etc.

One factor is clear: If you try and reach a settlement with an insurance company without an attorney, you are likely to get less than with an attorney, even after the attorney takes their share from the proceeds. Insurance companies are not stupid. They make a lot of money. They are able many times to convince the inexperienced plaintiff how little a case is worth, compared to it’s real value. The unsuspecting party may only get pennies on the dollar, if they don’t know the real value of their case. Most times, an experienced personal injury attorney can obtain an amount that, even after deducting their share, will result in a larger settlement than if they had tried to represent themselves.

If you would like to schedule an appointment with a personal injury attorney, click here.