Six main factors determine how much your Morgan & Morgan personal injury settlement amount will be.
The Severity of Your Injuries
The more severe your injuries are, the more likely you’ll win a larger settlement. If your injuries aren’t debilitating and won’t result in long-term recovery or permanent disfigurement, there’s less of an argument that you’ll require extended medical treatment.
On the other hand, if your injuries are so severe that you can’t work for the foreseeable future and you will require ongoing medical treatment, you may obtain a higher settlement amount.
Wherever your injuries are on the severity scale, it’s essential to seek the advice of legal counsel to ensure that you don’t accept a settlement offer that doesn’t reflect the extent of the injuries you’ve incurred.
Mental Pain and Suffering
Sometimes, the physical injuries sustained in an accident are much less than the resulting mental pain and suffering. Constant depression, anxiety, and loss of enjoyment of life can all affect injury victims.
Your lawyer will work with you to determine the severity of your mental pain and suffering. Documentation related to your grief, including evidence of ongoing medical treatment and mental health disorders, is critical.
Individuals who find that they can no longer perform the activities they once enjoyed should make a note that details the reasons they can’t participate anymore. Sometimes, pain associated with the injury may prevent a victim from engaging in activities.
Many times, people struggle with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) following an accident. PTSD may cause individuals to avoid people, places, or activities they associate with the event. They may also have problems regulating their moods.
PTSD requires a diagnosis by a mental health professional. If you or your loved ones believe you may have PTSD, you should see a doctor for treatment and include the condition when you seek a settlement for your injuries.
Cost of Medical Treatment
Personal injuries often come with significant medical bills. While health insurance may cover part of the costs, if you’re unable to work, you could lose your health coverage.
Medical expenses you can recover through your settlement include ambulance costs, doctor visits, fees for surgery, prescriptions, ongoing physical or occupational therapy, and psychologist visits. Any medical care you receive related to the accident, past or future, can be included in your settlement.
Lost Wages
Someone unable to work due to injuries may be entitled to damages for lost wages and future income. When calculating lost wages, your lawyer will include all time you were away from work, even if you received wages from accumulated vacation or sick days.
If you can no longer work at your regular capacity, you can claim damages related to lost future income.
Insurance Coverage
Oftentimes, the amount of money that a personal injury victim can recover is limited to the insurance coverage limits of the negligent individual or entity. Individuals usually don’t carry insurance with the same coverage limits that a business does.
People without insurance coverage may be unable to pay the victim, even if the plaintiff wins a judgment against them.
Generally speaking, people must carry insurance if they regularly operate an automobile, rent a place to live, run a business, or own a home. Depending on the type of accident, one of these policies should provide coverage for a personal injury settlement.
For example, someone bitten by a dog while visiting a friend’s house may file a lawsuit against the homeowner’s insurance. A car accident victim may file a claim against the defendant’s automobile insurance company. Someone who slips and falls in a restaurant can file a lawsuit against the insurance company of the restaurant owner.
Who Was at Fault
In many states, fault plays a role in the amount of settlement money obtained through a lawsuit. Personal injury victims living in states with comparative or contributory negligence systems may find their claims reduced or thrown out, especially if they were partially at fault for the accident.
Contributory negligence rules are the most stringent in the nation. Under contributory negligence systems, if someone is even 1% at fault, they can’t collect damages.
Most states have a comparative negligence system in place. That system may be either pure comparative or modified comparative fault. Under pure comparative fault rules, personal injury victims receive a percentage of damages according to how much at fault they were for the accident.
For instance, consider two individuals involved in an accident. If the court determines one is 75% responsible for the accident while the other is 25% responsible, the damages awarded will reflect the fault percentage determined for each party.
Under a modified comparative fault rule, the state sets a percentage of fault that the personal injury victim may be responsible for before denying a claim. In most states, the percentage is 50%, but each state has its own rules.
Personal injury victims living in a modified comparative fault state with a 50% rule will be unable to collect any damages if they are at least 50% responsible for the accident.
Whether the Case Goes to Trial
Only 4% to 5% of personal injury cases ever go to trial. Most settle out of court. It is usually in the victim’s and the defendant’s best interests to settle. The victim likely needs the money to cover their medical bills, treatment, and property damage, and the defendant will want to avoid negative publicity.
Cases that go to trial can be mentally exhausting to prepare for. Individuals often seek to avoid a trial as much as possible since reliving the accident can be highly stressful.
There’s also significant uncertainty around the final damages awarded in a personal injury trial. A jury firmly on the defendant’s side may reduce or eliminate any damages the plaintiff would have received had they decided to settle out of court.
However, in some situations, a plaintiff can’t avoid a trial. If the insurer refuses to settle for a reasonable amount, it may warrant a trial.
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