Know the Factors that May Impact Your Personal Injury Settlement

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How do you settle a personal injury case? How would you know if the settlement would be enough? Settlements from personal injuries like slip and falls are not an exact science, but it pays to know the factors that would affect your case. This way, you know whether your lawyers are managing your negotiations in your favor. Here are some things that you should know:

The Extent of the Injury

In general, the more severe the injury is, the higher the settlement amount should be. The reason for this is that there must be a consideration for the extra costs you incur as a result of the injury. Things like the pain and suffering that the victim has to go through because of the accident need to be compensated fully. Injuries that involve broken bones and spinal cord damage have higher settlement values compared with injuries that result in sprains or bruising. For injuries that cause permanent damage, the value of the settlement is way higher.

Activity Disruption

There must also be a consideration on the disruption of activities that would result from the personal injury. For example, the injury would affect a person’s capacity to perform their jobs and would thus be sidelined. The compensation must be enough to cover this.

Treatment and Recovery Costs

For serious injuries that require the services of specialist doctors would also amp up the settlement cost. The same is true if the damage would require several check-ups and therapies. More extended recovery periods also affect settlement costs significantly. This also includes any medical service, medication, or treatments you need on a permanent basis.

Proven Liability of the Defendant

Perhaps one of the most crucial factors that would determine settlement value is if the victim has a solid proof or evidence of the defendant’s liability. For example, if the patient has CCTV footage or witnesses to prove that the slip and fall accident happened within their establishment, then the victim can ask for a higher settlement. As such, it is important to know what victims should do right after the accident. According to Davis, Saperstein & Salomon, P.C. website, victims should immediately take photos of the site of the accident so that it can be used in court or during settlement.

Resulting Trauma

Aside from taking into consideration the physical injury, your lawyers should also account for the emotional and mental trauma that their clients have to endure secondary to the accident. In some individuals, severe and debilitating injuries can have a significant impact on their psychological well-being. For example, a breadwinner who can no longer provide for the family because their injury does not permit them can suffer from anxiety and depression.

Litigation Expenses

The more people are involved in the case, the higher would be the litigation costs. Should there be a need to hire expert witnesses, the expense would further go up. When this happens, some defendants would instead settle for a higher amount to avoid driving up their defense expenses. However, should the defendants assess that the plaintiff would not have the capacity to take the case to court, they would often force the victims to settle for a lower amount.

Publicity

If the injury brings the defendant to the news, the higher would the settlement cost be. More often, big businesses would not risk getting bad publicity that would negatively impact their businesses. In this day and age, when most people have access to social media, it is easier to bring complaints of personal injury to the attention of most consumers, which can hurt the pockets of big businesses.

Now that you know what the factors that impact your personal injury settlement are, it would be easier for you to confer with lawyers when it comes to determining the settlement value that you deserve.