August 5, 2020
Many factors influence the value of a personal injury case. While it is impossible to know for sure how much money you may receive, there are a few primary factors that heavily influence the settlement total. Those factors include:
Damages: (Injury, medical bills, lost wages, future damages, permanency)
Liability: (Fault for the accident)
Insurance Coverage: (Yours & the other drivers)
The Lawyer You Hire
The vast majority of cases will be settled out of court. Only about 4% of cases will go to trial. It is impossible to predict how the jury will rule if your case does go to trial. There are some general patterns that we have seen which tend to influence the final payout of a claim, by the insurance company or a jury. You need top-flight legal expertise and counsel to get maximum recovery:
Total Damages
The nature and severity of the injuries make a huge difference in how much money is awarded in a PI claim. You can expect a higher settlement amount when there are significant or disabling injuries or death. The more significant your injuries, the greater your medical expenses, lost wages and lost future earning capacity.
Virginia personal injury law is our pond. We have the experience to help you get the care you need and the monetary recovery to help make you whole and fully compensated.
Liability
Who was at fault? In the state of Virginia, you can only collect from the insurance company if you are not at fault in the accident. If you are partially at fault in an accident, even 1%, you will not be able to recover from the insurance carrier. This is called “contributory negligence”. If liability is at all questioned, you need an experienced lawyer.
After an accident, the insurance companies may want to take a recorded statement from you. If you agree to give a recorded statement, the insurance company may try to get you to admit things about the accident. Adjusters are trained to get you to make what appear to be minor or erroneous admissions that seem small at the time, but that their lawyers will exploit in the future.
Insurance Coverage
The amount of insurance coverage that is available for your claim will make a substantial difference in larger injury settlements. If you collided with a corporate company vehicle that caused your accident, it is very likely the business has extensive insurance coverage to cover large insurance claims. If the driver of the other car has substantial insurance and they caused the accident, then you have a greater likelihood of a greater recovery.
Unfortunately, many people do not have more than the statutory minimum $25,000 insurance policy because it costs so much. In these instances, the payout you receive will be limited to the insurance policy, if they have coverage. If the other driver causes an accident and doesn’t have coverage, you may not be able to recover any damages at all, unless you have your own policy.
Big corporations often have bigger insurance coverage policies, but you cannot recover more in damages just because the driver is well-insured. A larger insurance policy does not mean you will get more money unless the mediators or court decides you are entitled to a larger financial settlement. Your case value will be determined by how well your attorney educates the jury about the extent of your injury and damage.
Learn How Much Your Case Is Really Worth
Factors that influence the amount of the final award or settlement in your case are multiple, and assessing the realistic value of cases is best left to the counsel of attorneys who have recovered millions and done thousands of cases.
The experienced PI lawyers at Cravens & Noll, P.C. can review all of the details and facts surrounding your case and provide you a real-time assessment of the potential value of your case.
Do Not Delay
One factor that can make a difference is time. With each passing day, the memories fade, the evidence is lost, and the stories evolve. Waiting to get legal representation could prove to be not only detrimental to your case, but the costliest decision you have ever made. If you want the most, hire the best.
Call Cravens & Noll, P.C. at one of their four locations today to begin the investigation and evaluation of your personal injury settlement.