How Much Is A Personal Injury Claim Worth

Section 7. How Much Is A Personal Injury Claim Worth

As you might guess, it is impossible to tell exactly what any personal injury claim is worth. There are a number of factors that come into play when trying to determine the value of a claim.

For soft tissue injury cases (cases where an injured person is sore and has fairly minor medical bills), many personal injury attorneys and insurance adjusters multiply the actual dollar amount of the medical bills by 1.5 to 3 and then add the amount of the loss wages. For example, if you have a $1,000 medical bill and loss wages of $200, then the value of the case may be between $1,700 ($1,000 x 1.5 = $1,500 + $200 = $1,700) and $3,200 ($1,000 x 3 = $3,000 + $200 = $3,200).

In cases where the injuries are much more serious, the above formula does not apply and it is more difficult to estimate the value of personal injury claims.

The value of a personal injury claim is affected by how clear it is that one person caused the injury to another person. If it is clear that one person injured the other, the injured person stands a better chance of receiving more compensation than in a case where it is not as clear that one person injured the other. The reason is that if the case went to trial, a jury is more likely to award more money to someone who is clearly injured by another person, but a jury is less likely to award much money to someone who is not clearly injured by another person.

State personal injury law also affects how much a personal injury case is worth. A few states recognize contributory negligence which is a legal theory that says that if a person is even slightly at fault for his/her injury, the person does not receive any compensation at all. Most states nowadays recognize some form of comparative negligence which is a legal theory that says that a person can recover compensation for his/her injuries in the same ratio that he/she is not at fault. For example, if Driver 1 is 40% at fault for a particular car accident and Driver 2 is 60% at fault, then Driver 1 is entitled to receive 60% (100% less 40% for fault) of his/her compensation for injuries.

Another factor which affects the value of a personal injury case is how much a jury is likely to award an injured person. In some parts of the country, juries tend to award higher compensation amounts to the injured person than juries in other parts of the country. In areas where juries tend to award more compensation, personal injury cases are worth more money.

Finally, if you hire a personal injury lawyer, the lawyer's willingness to try a case in court will affect the value of a case. Personal injury cases handled by lawyers who do not try cases are worth less than cases handled by lawyers who are willing to try cases.

The above is general information only and may or may not be applicable to your situation. If you have any questions whatsoever, talk with a lawyer licensed in your state.

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