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Tips for Determining Your Worth, and Maximizing It
If you are thinking about pursuing a personal injury claim related to harm you suffered in a car accident, you are probably wondering how much compensation you will be able to recover for your bodily injuries, medical expenses, lost wages, and/or ongoing pain and suffering. You most likely have the right to financial compensation from the person whose negligence caused your injuries, though the amount you will be able to recover will depend on the specifics of your case.
Below, we discuss what kinds of compensation you may be eligible to receive, as well as what factors might allow you to recover even more.
Types of Compensation You Could Receive
After a car accident, there are two main kinds of damages you may be able to receive: (1) compensatory damages for your measurable financial losses, such as medical expenses and lost wages; and (2) additional damages to compensate for the pain and suffering the accident caused you, including physical pain, mobility limitations, mental anguish, embarrassment, and even inconvenience.
The first of these two types is much simpler to quantify; all amounts should come from your medical bills from the accident and prior paystubs. To calculate pain and suffering damages, however, a much closer look at your specific case is required. Many different factors can be considered to make a determination of pain and suffering damages, and the weight of each factor will depend on the facts of your case. Still, to get a preliminary idea of what pain and suffering damages you may be eligible for, go through the list below and consider your accident under each of the following key factors. The more factors tilt in your favor, the higher your potential pain and suffering reward could be!
Key Factors to Determining Your Claim’s Value
LIABILITY
Liability – or “fault” for the accident – is a very significant factor to assess when determining damages in a car accident case. Although it will not be the only factor assessed, if liability is clear-cut in your case, it is much more likely that the case will settle, or a jury will find in your favor. However, if YOU are partially at fault, or if the other driver has legitimate defenses to rely upon, those factors could reduce your potential damages.
Extent of the Injuries
The injuries you sustained in an accident is one of the most influential factors in evaluating the pain and suffering damages you will be eligible to receive. The more severe or permanent the injuries you sustained, the more you will be able to recover. This is because pain and suffering damages are often informally linked to the amount of medical bills. Injuries requiring several surgeries and extensive rehabilitation or therapy will be worth more pain and suffering damages than a few bruises would.
Future medical bills and future pain and suffering can also be taken into account when valuing a personal injury case. If your injuries are going to require care far into the future, or if the injuries cause you a permanent disability, your case will be worth more.
INSURANCE COVERAGE / AVAILABLE ASSETS
Another big factor in valuing a case is the policy limits of the at-fault party. In the majority of car accident cases, an injured party will never be able to collect more money than the policy limit or “cap” of the guilty party, because typically, people just do not have the personal assets to pay off a larger judgment. However, this is just one factor, and it is not dispositive on its own. A million-dollar policy limit does not mean you will collect all of it; the policy limits act more like a ceiling for the value of your case, setting the maximum – rather than the minimum – you could recover. Additionally, if there were several people hurt in the same accident you were, the insurance money available may have to be split among all the injured parties, which could reduce the ultimate amount you recover.
EVIDENCE / TRIAL PROSPECTS
Although few personal injury cases are taken all the way to a jury trial, many settlement decisions in a case are made considering what the possible outcome of a trial might be. When assessing what your case is worth, both your personal injury attorney and the insurance companies involved will carefully weigh the specifics of your case from the standpoint of a jury tasked with deciding your case. If the facts are clear, you have a lot of evidence, and you have good witnesses who can testify about what really happened in the accident, your case will be worth a lot more than if the cause of the accident is uncertain and you lack sufficient evidence to present to a jury.
Insurance companies make offers based on what will cost them the least money. If they believe they would win at trial, they will likely only offer a small settlement, if anything at all. The more afraid the insurance company is of losing, or of incurring significant costs in litigating the case, the higher settlement offers will be.
5 Tips to Maximize Your Recovery After a Car Accident
Each personal injury case is unique, so there really is not a single magic bullet that can ensure you recover the maximum compensation available. But there are things you can do after you have been involved in a car accident that will help maximize the compensation you can recover. To put yourself in the best position for recovery, we recommend you prioritize the following five things:
1. Preserve Evidence
Whether or not your case goes in front of a jury, evidence from your accident will be essential to determining fault and damages. That means the more you can do to preserve evidence, the greater your chance of winning the case will be. This means taking photographs, making recordings, preserving documents, and keeping diligent records of your experience during and after the accident.
2. Get Medical Treatment
Even if you are unsure of the extent of your injuries, you should get medical treatment. And if your doctor prescribes you medicine or recommends a treatment plan, you should carefully follow these instructions. Doing so will help prove the extent of your injuries and quantify what these injuries truly cost you.
3. Stay off Social Media
If you want to maximize your recovery for the injuries you received from a car accident, you should be careful to not overshare on social media. Whether you are posting specifically about the accident or not, anything you share publicly on social media can be seen by the insurance company. This means you could literally recover less for your injuries if the insurance company can find things that you posted on social media since the accident that tell a very different story about the injuries you suffered.
4. Don’t Wait to File Your Case
After you have been injured in a car accident, you will have time limits to bring your case. If you overlook these time limits, your case – and your ability to receive compensation for your injuries – could be barred entirely. So don’t wait.
5. Retain an Experienced Personal Injury Attorney
Recovering money to cover damages after a car accident can be difficult and frustrating. And let’s face it – insurance companies are way more experienced than you are at resolving personal injury cases, so they may attempt to avoid paying you the compensation that you are rightfully owed. Additionally, even when the insurance company pays you the maximum it can, the amount you receive still might not cover all of your expenses and costs caused by the accident.
Regardless of the situation, you will be able to maximize your recovery best with an experienced personal injury attorney on your side who can help analyze your situation and who will fight for YOU.
Understand the Value of Your Personal Injury Case
Ultimately, the most important factor in determining the value of your New York City personal injury case will be the attorney you hire to represent you. Having a skilled personal injury attorney work closely with you and guide you through the legal process can help ensure that you get maximum compensation for your injuries.
Contact the experienced New York City personal injury attorneys at Shalom Law today to discuss your options:
(718) 917-9474.
This memorandum relates to general information only and does not constitute legal advice. Facts and circumstances vary.
