Personal Injury: How to Know What’s Worth Fighting For?
What is my injury worth? It is the most popular query directed to personal injury attorneys.
It makes sense that you desire a solid answer to this query. It reflects the personal cost you suffer for your medical care, the lost wages, and wound healing. But it’s a difficult question.
Various factors can have an impact on how valuable your case can be. For example:
- Was the other person careless?
- How much money do you need for medical bills?
- Were your wounds recorded?
- Was the injury sustained at work?
You’ll have to tackle these factors before filing a case.
Employing the help of an attorney for motor vehicle accidents is a good decision because they have the skill set for the job. When the car accident lawyer looks at the factors around your case, it will help them decide if the case is worth fighting for. This blog post will discuss the factors affecting your case’s worth. But first, you need to know how your actions affect your worth.
Victims’ Actions That Can Affect the Worth of Their Case
In some cases, a victim’s fault in causing the accident can reduce the amount of payment they can get in a personal injury case. Their inaction after getting hurt may reduce the amount too. Below are ways your actions affect your case:
- Comparative Negligence
Due to the “comparative negligence” rule that most states follow, a victim can still get paid even if they have a part to play in the accident.
In the United States, states like Florida practice this rule.
So, if you live in a city like Tampa, Florida, you are under this rule. But that doesn’t stop the fact that there are still accidents where the injured victims have no fault of theirs.
You have the right to ask for payment from the person who was at fault in a car accident that left you with serious injuries. But Tampa is a city in Florida which is a pure comparative negligence state. As a result, proving the at-fault party’s carelessness is tough.
In Florida, a party who is 90% at fault for an accident can still sue for damages against the other party. It is possible if they can prove the role the other party played in causing the accident. If they prove that, they will have 10% of the compensation. So, for someone who has got hurt due to someone else’s negligence, it is best to get advice from personal injury lawyers in Tampa who will understand your case. They specialize as lawyers for automobile accidents and can help you make the best out of your personal injury case. You need this estimation to know if pursuing your case will favor your interests.
- Contributory Negligence
States like Alabama, Maryland, and others practice this concept for personal injury cases. It follows that if you are also at fault for the accident, you may not be able to get any payment at all.
If, for example, you chose to claim a property destroyed by fire despite knowing about faulty wiring, you may not be able to get any money because you are also to blame.
- Failure to Limit Damages After the Accident
In most states, victims of personal injury claims must, by law, put in an effort to lessen the cost toll of the harm brought on by accident. As a result, the damage award may be very low if a wounded victim chooses to do nothing except sit back and celebrate their victory.
For example, it is unfair to delay receiving critical medical care after an accident. As a result, their injuries will get worse.
Factors That Determine the Worth of the Case
The worth of your claim will be higher the more serious your injuries are. You may be unable to work, resulting in lost wages and accumulated medical costs. Below are factors that determine if your case is worth fighting for.
- Medical Bills
Medical bills are one of the most common factors in economic damage.
Even a few days in the hospital can be expensive for slight injuries. A survey shows that 79 million Americans have unpaid medical bills or debts. So, it’s best to add in your claim all medical bills related to your injury treatment, including:
- Doctor’s visits
- Drugs costs
- Surgery
- Current treatment cost and so on
- Lost Wages
As the primary provider in the family, not going to work is bad for you. But if it is due to the injuries sustained in a car accident, it will help strengthen your claim.
But your lawyer for car accidents will need you to calculate your lost wages to prepare for the case. There are steps to take when calculating lost wages.
First, it can contain the salary from your workplace and future salary. Second, there comes the lost earning capacity when you sustain a long-term disability from a personal injury. Third, lost opportunities where you might have missed an interview for a job due to your injury.
An attorney for car accidents can help you with calculating the above costs to arrive at the total lost income.
- Loss of Property
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Suppose you were in an auto accident which also means the loss of your car and any other property inside; it is crucial to document all the destroyed properties. It will help your lawyer for automobile accidents to decide on items that need repair. It will also help them estimate the total cost while preparing the case.
- Pain and Suffering Damages
It is the most common non-economic damage a victim experiences.
Accident-related pain and suffering claims can extend beyond the actual injury.
Thus, when trying to assess the value of a claim, both physical and emotional suffering will be in the records.
Also, fatal accidents can break marriages and deteriorate lifestyles for families. You may no longer do activities you do before the injury due to the medical procedures. Your healing period can long and stressful.
Keep records of all these pains and suffering as it will make the case worth fighting for in court. It will also ensure you get a good payment to cover the loss.
Bottom Line
The United States has 12.15 million vehicle crashes nationwide. Of course, such crashes lead to victims sustaining injuries.
Personal injuries are no joke because they may hinder your quality of life. Get in touch with an attorney for accidents involving cars right away! If you or someone you know has suffered severe mental or physical harm due to someone else’s negligence, a personal injury lawsuit can improve living standards for the injured.
If you’re a victim and feel your case is not worth fighting for or has no fighting chance, the above are factors to consider to know your stance. With your knowledge of these factors and a personal lawyer for car accidents, you are good to go.
With all these, you can collect money that you can use to cover the expense of healing the injuries you received in the accident.