What is my personal injury case worth?
Attorney
(866) 735-1102 Ext 645
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One of the
most frequent questions we get from our clients is: “What is my case worth? What can I expect to put into my pocket from
my claim?”
This is a
question which should not be considered until at least several months after the
injury occurred.
No attempt
to settle a claim should be made until after the claimant’s doctors have had
sufficient time to learn and understand the full nature and extent of the
injuries. After the doctors have had
enough time to fully understand the injuries, thought could then be given to
settling the case.
The value
of the case is not something that can be easily calculated. The price of a case cannot be found in
something like a Sears and Roebuck catalog.
Neither are there any quick and simple formulas such as a multiple of
the amount of medical bills that will tell you what a personal injury case is
worth.
Among the
factors that should be considered for valuing a personal injury case are: how much are the medical bills, what is the
nature and extent of the injury and whether those injuries are permanent, how
the injuries have affected the victim , whether the daily habits and lifestyle
of the victim are adversely affected by the injuries, the length of time out of
work, and the amount of wages lost for being out of work, the nature, degree,
and extent of pain and discomfort suffered by the victim, and various other
factors.
The
ultimate determination of the value of a personal injury case is what a jury
sitting in the county in which the case would be tried says that the case is
worth. One way to estimate that number
is to make a realistic evaluation of the amount your friends and family members
would make of the case if you were not involved and if the victim were a
complete stranger. Ask yourself what you
yourself would value the case at if you were not involved.
As you can
see, at best, there is no precise way to measure what a personal injury case is
worth and, in the final analysis, it is largely guesswork.
However, an
experienced personal injury lawyer can help you determine a reasonable estimate
of the value of the case based upon his or her years of experience in dealing
with insurance adjusters and juries.