After suffering an injury due to someone else’s negligent actions, you can seek compensation from the at-fault party and their insurer. However, the amount you stand to obtain depends on many factors unique to your case. As such, the average personal injury settlement amount doesn’t have much bearing on the award you can expect in your case.
What’s more important is understanding the conditions that determine the amount you can pursue. In other words, your settlement probably won’t look like the average settlement because your injuries and their effects on your life won’t look like anyone else’s losses.
Factors That Determine the Value of the Settlement You Can Seek
A personal injury settlement is meant to cover two types of losses. Economic losses are the direct financial costs of your injuries. They include medical expenses and lost earnings.
For example, suppose that your doctor billed you $10,000 for a broken bone and wrote a note informing your employer that you had to miss five days of work. Your economic losses would include the $10,000 hospital bill plus one week’s wages.
Other examples of economic losses include:
- Injury-related out-of-pocket expenses
- Replacement costs for services you can’t perform due to your injuries, such as cleaning
- Expenses for home modifications like wheelchair ramps
Your compensation may also cover certain non-economic losses. These are more difficult to describe because they have no inherent value; they reflect the ways your injuries have eroded your quality of life. Examples include pain, anguish, dismemberment, disability, and disfigurement.
All told, the overall value of your personal injury claim will come down to the following factors:
The Injuries You’ve Suffered
More severe injuries usually justify larger claims. Specifically, more serious injuries often require more extensive and costly medical treatment. Minor cuts and bruises may heal without medical care. In those cases, your medical costs would be limited to the expenses of over-the-counter medical supplies like bandages and antibiotic ointment.
By contrast, your economic losses from a severe injury could include:
- Emergency room and hospitalization costs
- Testing fees
- Surgery bills
- Physical therapy costs
If you were incapacitated at the accident scene, you might also have incurred expenses for ambulance transportation. All of these costs would be included in your injury claim.
More severe injuries will also have a greater impact on your ability to earn a living. They may prevent you from performing the activities required for your job. For example, a back injury from a car accident might interfere with your ability to sit or stand for long periods. As a result, your doctor might recommend against working as a personal assistant until you heal.
Additionally, you may lose billable hours for doctors’ appointments and physical therapy sessions. Your claim will include the wages you lose when you’re forced to miss work during your recovery.
The Nature of Your Claim
The nature of your claim could affect the settlement you receive. For instance, a claim against a large corporation might be worth more than one against an individual. Similarly, a medical malpractice case against a doctor might be worth more than a slip and fall accident in the doctor’s office.
This difference results from a few things. First, businesses often have greater resources to pay claims. At the same time, they also have more resources to fight cases they view as frivolous.
Second, some types of cases come with greater losses. For example, you might convince an insurer to pay more in non-economic losses for a medical malpractice case because of the pain and suffering caused by the doctor’s betrayal of trust.
The Other Party’s Insurance
The other party’s insurance coverage may determine the maximum settlement you can obtain. Liability insurance policies have policy limits that cap the amount the insurer pays for claims. If the party has no other resources besides their insurance policy, you might be unable to recover any money beyond the maximum payout.
Once again, the nature of your case might determine the insurance coverage available to pay for your losses. Illinois requires vehicle owners to carry at least $25,000 in bodily injury liability coverage as part of their auto insurance policies. If the driver who hit you only had the minimum required coverage, you can’t expect more than $25,000 in payment from the insurer.
Conversely, the state doesn’t require homeowner’s insurance. If you slip and fall on someone’s porch, no insurer may be involved. However, if the homeowner does have insurance, it may include liability coverage of $100,000 or more. Therefore, you have a fair chance of securing full compensation under a claim against a homeowner’s policy.
The Strength of Your Claim
Personal injury cases are often settled through negotiation. If you have a strong claim, the insurer is more likely to negotiate with you to resolve the case. More specifically, insurers often offer settlements to avoid trials. Jurors are frequently unsympathetic toward insurers and can force them to pay large awards.
On the other hand, an insurer might take its chances with a trial if your claim is weak.
Some signs of weakness in a case include evidence that:
- The insured party acted reasonably rather than negligently
- Your actions may have contributed to the accident
- There were contradictory reports about what happened
An insurer might not feel compelled to make a good offer for a weak claim. Instead, it will make a low offer, hoping that you’ll accept it based on the tenuousness of your position.
Estimating Your Possible Settlement Amount
You can estimate the value of your claim by adding up the financial costs your accident has generated. This number represents your economic losses.
Non-economic losses are more difficult to estimate, but they’re tied to the severity and permanence of your injuries. A temporary injury that heals without treatment will be worth significantly less than a permanent injury, such as brain damage. Consider speaking to a lawyer to get a better idea of your prospective non-economic damages.
Contact Our Personal Injury Lawyers At Joel E. Brown, P.C. in Peoria, IL for Assistance Today
To learn more, contact our skilled personal injury attorney at Joel E. Brown, P.C to schedule a free consultation. We are conveniently located in Peoria and proudly serve Peoria County, IL, and the neighboring communities.
Joel E. Brown, P.C
416 Main Street Suite 1300, Peoria, IL 61602
(309) 673 4357
Available 24/7