7 Factors That Can Affect Your Personal Injury Case
Personal injury cases aren’t always as smooth sailing as they seem to be. Compensation, paid hospitalization, and medical care are often provided to an individual when their claim is successfully proven and processed. This, unfortunately, isn’t always the case. There are plenty of factors that can either make or break where your legal case stands with your personal injury. In order to receive maximum value and compensation for your accident, it could be extremely helpful to understand the factors that can influence your case. Otherwise, you might have to take large increments out of your hard-earned money to get yourself back into shape. Let’s take a look at the many personal injury settlement factors.
The Severity of the Injury
Oftentimes, accidents that cause severe or life-threatening injuries tend to provide individuals with larger settlements because of the amount of pain and suffering. Broken bones and spinal cord damage are some of the most common injuries that receive higher value due to how much downtime it requires victims to take. Soft-tissue injuries, bruising, or sprains often call for a lower value. If injuries are permanent, some of the largest settlements possible can be awarded to the victim.
The Recklessness of the Defendant
If a personal injury was caused by the recklessness or negligence of someone else, then this detail can also determine the compensation a victim will be rewarded. Personal injury at the fault of someone else often occurs in car accidents and in workplace accidents. Calling the police to conduct a police report after getting into a car accident can work in your favor as they make specific notes regarding how exactly it happened and to jot down any injuries.
How Your Injury Affects Your Work and Productivity
If your injury keeps you at home and stops you from doing any demanding work for weeks, or even months, then this can help you on behalf of your insurance claim. Moreso if you are the manager or head employee and your injuries affect your clients’ daily lives. This may, in turn, provide you with a larger settlement.
Some injuries can go as far as making it difficult for victims to do simple tasks such as walking or standing. On the other hand, victims whose lives don’t change dramatically generally receive a lower settlement.
The Time for Treatment and Recovery
Larger settlements are granted to victims whose injuries require special, expensive treatment from professionals involving doctors and hospital staff. If a victim has to spend days, maybe even weeks, for treatment in the hospital, they can expect their case to call for a higher value. Duration of the recovery matters, which is why soft injuries generally lead to lower settlements.
Emotional and Mental Trauma
As unfortunate as it can be, some accidents can induce pain and suffering that go beyond a victim’s physical makeup. Emotional trauma and mental trauma often occur as a result of car accident injuries or when a victim takes a blow to the head. Providing psychological trauma and damage sets the high evidentiary bar to be attainable for victims who fall under this category. It also helps when a victim has been receiving treatment or therapy from a professional such as a psychologist or a psychiatrist.
The Costs of Litigation
Not only do medical professionals and organizations have to take it upon themselves to care for the victim, but there is much documentation to be done when an accident happens. Clerical work, getting in touch with potential witnesses, and hiring experts to address technical issues are all factors that can determine how severe or minor the injuries are categorized as. Furthermore, if a plaintiff lacks the resource to negate a complex personal injury case, the defendant can expect to receive a large settlement and case value.
Using Past Complaints or Accidents To Your Advantage
If victims from the past have suffered from the same injuries due to the same cause(s), this can also grant a victim with a high value and large settlement. For example, let’s say you slip and fall in a hotel you are currently staying at during a vacation. You and your lawyer can get in touch to see if there have been any other complaints regarding the recklessness and carelessness of the hotel. You can indicate how much of a hazard has been posed, even prior to your personal injuries.
Receive the Legal Support You Need for Your Personal Injury Case
It’s evident that they are many factors that can come into play in regard to helping you receive the highest amount of financial assistance and medical care after suffering from personal injuries. No matter what your accident entails, we can help. Contact Smith, Alston, Darner, & Lee to learn more about how we can assist you throughout your case.
