If you have been injured in an auto accident, you may be attempting to figure out how much your case is worth. Despite what you may have heard, there is no exact formula for deciding the value of an auto accident case but your personal injury attorney should be able to give you an estimation. While many factors go into deciding how much your individual case is worth, one factor that applies in all personal injury cases are your physical injuries. The physical injuries that you suffered in your auto accident affect the value of your case in a number of ways, according to personal injury attorney Emery Ledger of Ledger & Associates in California. The size of your recovery will also depend on the quality of lawyering that is put into the case. A personal injury attorney’s skill is comparable to of a professional athlete. After watching a game it is clear that certain plays were made or lost based on the talent on the field. Thus, you must take your time and find the personal injury attorney that is best for you.
The type of physical injury you suffered is important to the value of your personal injury case in more than one way. If your injuries are all soft tissue injuries – things like sprains and strains – then your medical bills will most likely not be very high and your recovery time will be short. Likewise, if you suffered more catastrophic injuries – such as a spinal cord injury – then your medical bills will be very high and you may never fully recover. The negligent party not only has to compensate you for your current medical bills, but generally they are required to compensate you for all anticipated future medical bills as well. If your injuries require you to miss a substantial amount of time from your job, or even to lose your job, then that will make your claim more valuable as you are entitled to be compensated for lost wages as well.
The extent of your physical injuries is also important. If, for instance, you suffered a spinal cord injury and that injury was so severe that you may never walk again, then that obviously makes your entire claim worth more. On the other hand, if you suffered back injuries, but you are expected to make a full recovery, then your claim is less valuable. The extent to which you were injured generally affects the anticipated future medical bills as well. Injuries that cannot be completely healed or that may cause intermittent pain for the rest of your life should be compensated at a higher rate to assure that you can pay any future medical bills that are related to the injuries. Sometimes, what would otherwise be a minor injury can actually be made more severe by the extent of the injury. For instance, a broken bone may be able to heal without any anticipated future problems. Sometimes though, a bone is broken in a particularly vulnerable spot or in a particularly bad way and your prognosis says that you may have problems as a result of the break for the rest of your life.
Lastly, the condition of the victim can affect the value of the physical injuries suffered in an auto accident. The age and general medical condition of the victim in an auto accident can drastically affect their ability to heal or their future medical prognosis. For example, an 18 year old may be able to heal faster from a broken bone than a 70 year old. However, if that same 18 year broke his bone in an extremely vulnerable spot, he may be expected to have intermittent flare ups from the injury for the rest of his life – about 50+ years. Consequently, his claim will include anticipated future medical bills for another 50 years.
As you can see, physical injuries suffered in an auto accident affect the value of the settlement you receive in a number of ways. If you have been involved in an auto accident, seek medical advice immediately and make sure that you follow the advice and complete any treatment that is ordered. After you are stabilized medically contact a personal injury attorney. Most will offer a free evaluation of your accident claim and an estimation of financial recovery. If you have any additional legal questions, feel free to call California personal injury lawyer Emery Ledger at his office – 1-800-300-001 or visit him online at www.ledgerlaw.com.
