When you hire a personal injury lawyer to pursue your legal claim to financial compensation, you’re making the conscious decision to have a legal advocate whose job it is to look out for you. Insurance companies don’t always play fair. Your personal injury lawyer handles communication with the insurance company and obtaining your personal injury settlement, so that you can focus on getting well and putting your life back on track.
Most personal injury claims start with the settlement process. Settling is often much less expensive, less stressful, and less time consuming than going to court. If there’s not a successful settlement made before trial, it could still take place while the trial is on-going.
As personal injury lawyers, one of the most common questions we receive from clients is, “How much will my personal injury settlement be?” Although a variety of factors influence the likely settlement value, you can estimate it by:
Because it’s such a common question, we decided to share this information with our readers and will explain in more detail below. By the end of this post, we hope that you feel more educated and prepared to enter the settlement process. If you need help, contact the personal injury lawyers at Thompson Law. We offer free initial consultations.
Personal injury claims rely on negligence. For a victim to be eligible for compensation, they must be able to prove that the other involved party was negligent in some way and that the negligence caused the victim an actual injury. The injury can be physical, mental, or even be damage to property. As we go through this post and see the word “injury,” keep in mind that we’re using it to encompass those three components.
Generally, you and your personal injury lawyer will use the damages formula to determine a starting point for the settlement process. Victims may be eligible to receive compensation for medical care and related expenses, lost income, pain and physical suffering, permanent disability, disfigurement, loss of quality of life, and emotional suffering.
As you may have noticed, a couple of items on that list can be fairly subjective. It can be hard to place monetary worth on how the accident affected your personal life or your mental health. Yet, that’s why the multiplier method for damages formula is used.
First, you take the numbers you know you do have. Those are generally the amount spent for medical care and related expenses, lost income, and whether you’ll ever be able to work again or if the work you can do now is drastically different from your line of work before the accident.
Second, take the total and multiply it by 1.5 to 5. Although the number will sometimes be higher than 5, it is most often no higher than that. That’s how you come up with a requested settlement amount that includes compensation for those items that are hard to put a dollar value on.
It’s important for you to understand the formula because insurance companies won’t go out of their way to explain the process to you. Additionally, you or your personal injury lawyer aren’t under any obligation to explain how you developed your settlement amount, either.
Of course, there are additional adjustments for dealing with extremely painful injuries, long-term medical treatment, and how permanent (and visible) the injury is.
Damage caps can significantly influence the amount of compensation you are eligible to receive in a personal injury case. These caps are legal limits imposed by state laws on the amount of damages that can be awarded to plaintiffs, especially in cases involving non-economic damages like pain and suffering or punitive damages. The impact of these caps varies widely from state to state, as each jurisdiction has its own regulations, often depending on the type of lawsuit being pursued.
For example, in Texas, damage caps play a significant role in personal injury settlements. Under Texas law, non-economic damages, such as pain and suffering, are capped in certain cases like those involving governmental entities. While these caps are meant to prevent excessive payouts and ensure fairness, they can also limit a victim’s ability to recover full compensation for severe or lifelong injuries.
It is often the insurance company that offers the settlement. Insurance policies have limits. So, the settlement may be affected by the insurance limit. If your settlement amount is over that limit, they may try to negotiate it down to the limit or you may have the right to accept the policy limit, release the insurance company from further liability, and sue the insured directly for the rest of the money.
The minimum auto insurance policy limits vary from state to state, as each state sets its own laws regarding liability coverage requirements. These minimums specify the lowest amount of insurance a driver must carry to legally operate a vehicle. Those limits can impact the value of your personal injury settlement, particularly if your damages are severe.
For example, Texas requires drivers to have minimum liability coverage of 30/60/25. This includes $30,000 for bodily injury per person, $60,000 for bodily injury per accident (if multiple people are injured), and $25,000 for property damage. These limits are often referred to as “30/60/25 coverage.”
By comparison, Georgia mandates minimum liability limits of 25/50/25. This means drivers must carry at least $25,000 for bodily injury per person, $50,000 for bodily injury per accident, and $25,000 for property damage liability. These limits are intended to cover damages an at-fault driver may be responsible for in an accident.
The location of your accident can have a significant impact on your personal injury settlement, especially if your case goes to court. Some counties are considered “plaintiff-friendly,” meaning that juries in these areas are typically more likely to side with injured parties and award higher amounts in damages.
This trend can be influenced by the local demographics, economic conditions, or the prevailing attitudes of the community towards corporations and insurance companies. If your case is filed in a plaintiff-friendly county, you may have greater leverage during settlement negotiations, as the opposing party may prefer to avoid the risk of a high jury award. Understanding the tendencies of the court systems in your accident’s location is crucial to developing a strong strategy for your case.
Pre-existing medical conditions can play a significant role in determining the outcome of your personal injury settlement. Insurance companies often attempt to argue that your injuries were not caused by the accident but rather stem from your prior health issues. This can potentially reduce the amount of compensation you receive.
However, under the “eggshell plaintiff” rule, you are entitled to compensation for damages caused by the accident, even if your pre-existing condition made you more vulnerable to injury. To address these challenges, it is important to provide thorough medical documentation and expert testimony that clearly differentiates between your pre-existing condition and the injuries caused by the accident. Additionally, having a skilled attorney who understands how to counter these arguments can strengthen your case and help ensure you receive the fair settlement you deserve.
Thompson Law is a team of experienced personal injury lawyers with serious and effective negotiation skills in obtaining maximum value for personal injury settlements. If you need help with a personal injury claim, call us now at 844-308-8180. The call and the consultation are free.
Thompson Law charges NO FEES unless we obtain a settlement for your case. We have put over $1.9 billion in cash settlements into our clients’ pockets.
Contact us today for a free, no obligation consultation to discuss your accident, get answers to your questions, and understand your legal options. State law limits the time you have to file a claim after an injury accident, so call today.
