Important Factors That Affect Your Settlement Amount in a Personal Injury Case
Recovering from a personal injury can be a long, painful and frustrating process. If you’ve taken the initiative to seek damages through a personal injury claim, you’re probably wondering not only when you can expect to receive payment but also what your settlement amount will be.
There is no easy way to answer this question. While each case is different, insurance adjusters look at multiple factors when determining the amount of their settlement offer. Which of these factors apply to your case will influence the settlement offer you’ll receive in response to your personal injury claim.
Factors That Add Value to Settlement Offers
When you’ve suffered a personal injury, the devastation that it has had on your life can be traumatic – even if the injury itself is relatively minor and recovery is short. Still, insurance adjusters look for indicators that your injury involved prolonged pain, suffering and had a significant financial impact on your life.
The details of your case will often be broken apart and put into one of two categories – factors that increase the amount of your settlement and factors that indicated a higher settlement amount is not necessitated.
For instance, “hard injuries” are considered more significant than soft tissue injuries. This means that if you suffered a head injury, broken bone, nerve damage, spinal injury or open wound you’ll receive more compensation that you would for damage to soft tissue – such as a sprain or bruise.
The nature of your medical expenses is also taken into consideration when determining your settlement amount. An insurance adjuster will assess your medical expenses to determine if they are primarily diagnostic in nature or treatment centered. For example, medical expenses that include an emergency room visit, x-rays and other diagnostic tests will be assessed differently than medical expenses that have been incurred for treatment, ongoing recuperative therapies and medications.
The degree of which your injury has affected your life will also be taken into consideration. Injuries that are long term, permanent or require continual ongoing treatment will result in a higher settlement offer than those that have had a minimal impact on other areas of your life – for example, your ability to attend work, school or tend to the needs of your family.
External Factors That Affect Compensation
Often times, people who are involved in a personal injury claim fail to realize the impact that their actions and behaviors can have on the settlement offer they receive. An insurance adjuster will also take into consideration whether or not the details of your claim can be validated and if any witnesses involved are shown to lack credibility.
Work with an Experienced Law Firm
Waiting on a personal injury claim is often an emotionally and physically draining process. The approach you take with working with the insurance company can have an impact on the outcome. This is why it’s important to work with a personal injury lawyer in Birmingham who can handle the legalities of your case why you focus on recovering. If you’ve been injured as the result of someone else’s negligence or misconduct, we’re here to help. Contact King Simmons for a consultation on your personal injury case today.
