What is the Value of a Personal Injury Settlement?
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A settlement is usually made at the end of a successful personal injury case. But how much could the settlement be? Read on to find out.
When a skilled attorney has successfully argued out your case and it’s time for the legally responsible party to make monetary payments to the injured person, one wonders what would be the worth of this settlement.
Parties may negotiate a settlement and the damages that will be awarded. Alternatively, a judge or a jury may order the settlement after court proceedings. Settlement amounts vary widely from case to case. Every case is unique, and a wide range of factors can either decrease or increase the compensation money.
Factors Considered
A multiplier in a personal injury claim is normally used to determine the severity of the pain caused to you and as a result determine your settlement’s worth. If the pain is high, your settlement’s worth also increases.
The following are the factors placed into consideration:
- Permanent injury, including weakness, stiffness, loss of mobility, or scar
- Treatment that takes too long to finish
- Long recovery times
- Prescribed medication associated with the injury
- Hard injury such as wounds, nerve damage, joint injury, head injury or broken bone
- Medical treatment in a hospital, clinic or by a personal medical doctor
- Medical expenses associated with the injury
- Disruption of your daily life – like inability to go to work, missed vacation, missed school, or canceled special event
Will I receive lower compensation?
You can determine in advance whether your compensation will be high or low. Factors such as soft tissue injuries, absence of emotional or physical problems, no prescribed medication, lack of requirement to be treated by a medical doctor or most medical expenses going into diagnosis instead of treatment indicate a lower compensation.
If you shared some blame in the injuries caused to you, the compensation goes down. Also, disorganization on your part or inability to produce a witness to strengthen your side of the case waters down the compensation’s worth.
Attorneys will always attempt to get you a ‘fair’ compensation. However, at the end of it all, it is not always about how much money you’ve been awarded. Rather, it is about you feeling that the settlement made properly compensates you with respect to the disruptions caused.
Compensation in a personal injury case is not just about the money. It is satisfactory to see the legally responsible party pay for their negligence.
Posted in: News, Personal Injury
