Key Factors Influencing Your Personal Injury Settlement Value

Posted on December 8, 2023 by admin

Navigating the complex world of personal injury settlements is no easy feat, especially when dealing with the tactics commonly employed by insurance companies to minimize payouts. When you’ve been injured due to someone else’s negligence, understanding the key factors that influence the value of your claim is crucial.

This blog post aims to guide you through these critical elements, helping you to effectively calculate and negotiate your personal injury damages. We’ll discuss the variables that can affect your settlement value, shed light on the strategies that insurance companies and their attorneys may use to decrease your compensation and provide insights into the personal injury calculator, a tool that can be effective in valuing your claim. Stay tuned as we delve into the intricacies of personal injury settlements.

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What Factors Affect the Value of Your Personal Injury Settlement?

When determining the value of your personal injury claim, several key factors come into play. These variables can vary significantly from case to case, making it challenging to assign a figure for your damages. However, understanding these elements and how they influence your settlement value is crucial in negotiating a fair compensation amount. Here are some of the key factors that can impact your personal injury settlement value:

Nature and severity of injuries: The type and extent of your injuries have a significant impact on the value of your claim. Generally, more severe injuries should result in higher compensation amounts.

Medical treatment and expenses: The cost of medical treatment for your injuries, including past and future expenses, can significantly impact your settlement value.

Lost wages and income: If your injuries have caused you to miss work or impacted your ability to earn an income, this can be factored into your compensation amount.

Pain and suffering: Physical pain, emotional distress, and mental anguish resulting from the accident can also be considered when calculating the value of your claim. These damages are calculated differently by each insurance carrier for a settlement or a jury for a verdict.

Duration of recovery: The length of time it takes for you to fully recover from your injuries can also play a role in determining the value of your settlement.

As you can see, there are multiple variables that can impact the value of your personal injury settlement. However, keep in mind that each case is unique and may involve additional factors not mentioned here. It’s always best to consult with a personal injury lawyer to assess your specific situation and determine the most accurate estimate of your potential settlement value. You should hire an attorney.

How Do Insurance Companies Try to Lower the Value of a Personal Injury Claim?

Insurance companies are businesses, and their primary goal is to make a profit. As such, they may employ various tactics to decrease the value of personal injury settlements and minimize their payout. Some common tactics used by insurance companies include:

Disputing liability: Insurers may try to shift the blame onto the injured party or argue that their policyholder is not entirely at fault for the accident, even if the argument is without very much merit.

Downplaying injuries: Insurance companies may downplay the severity of your injuries and try to get you to settle quickly before you realize the full extent of your damages and before you can hire your own attorney.

Delaying the claims process: Insurers may intentionally prolong the settlement process to pressure you into accepting a lower offer.

Using recorded statements against you: Be cautious when providing recorded statements to insurance companies, as they can use them to discredit your claims and reduce your settlement value by attempting to get you to guess in your answers or attempting to have you answer in a way which can later be argued in a misinterpreting way.

The Role of Personal Injury Calculators in Valuing Your Case

Personal injury calculators are online tools that use algorithms and data input to estimate the potential value of your claim. While these calculators can be helpful in providing a rough estimate, they should not be relied upon as the final say on your settlement value. These tools do not take into account all the nuances and complexities of personal injury cases, and their results may vary significantly from what you eventually receive. It’s always best to seek professional legal counsel and use the personal injury calculator as a starting point rather than the final determining factor.

Conclusion

The value of your lawsuit settlement can be influenced by various factors, including the nature of your injuries, medical expenses, lost wages, temporary or permanent injuries and pain and suffering. Insurance companies will try to lower the value of your settlement through tactics such as disputing liability and downplaying injuries. While personal injury calculators can provide a general estimation, it’s crucial to consult with a lawyer for a more accurate assessment of your claim’s value.

With this knowledge in hand, you’ll be equipped to negotiate a fair settlement and receive the compensation you deserve. In the end, it is also difficult to assign any specific number as reasonable to any settlement or potential verdict because all juries are different but you attorney should be able to provide you with an accurate ballpark for a full and fair settlement after evaluating the law and facts relevant to your case.

Don’t let insurance companies take advantage of you – know your rights and seek legal assistance when necessary. Contact Craven, Hoover, and Blazek P.C. at 317-881-2700 for a free case consultation and let our Indianapolis civil litigators guide you through the personal injury claim and settlement process. We represent any victim all throughout the state, plus Indiana residents injured in other states.

The Difference Between Special and General Damages in an Accident Settlement

Posted on March 11, 2022 by admin

When it comes to personal injury settlements, there are two primary categories of financial payment (damages) awarded to victims or survivors of victims: general damages and special damages. Such damages are awarded based on the specific losses incurred by the claimant or claimants.

Continue below for a brief description of general and special damages, including how they compare to one another and where you can find more information pertaining to your recent, wrongful accident in Indiana.

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The Purpose of Personal Injury Damages

Under tort law, when a person is a victim of negligence, which a is a failure to use reasonable care, a judge or jury may award damages to compensate them for their injuries and losses. Such damages can range from lost paychecks and medical bills to pain, suffering, and more. To measure the value of damages, a court must consider the losses and injuries of an accident victim’s body, mind, property, and overall quality of life. Personal injury settlements are designed to help accident victims or surviving family get back to the same state of life they were in before the accident and to fairly compensate the victim for what they experienced and will experience in the future.

Although there are several types of personal injury damages that may be awarded in a settlement, the two main categories are general damages and special damages.

Special Damages

Also referred to as compensatory or economic damages, special damages are the calculable to a large extent, losses suffered by a personal injury victim. They include hospital bills, medical expenses, lost wages from missing work, mileage to and from doctor’s appointments, property damages (in some cases), and similar precise values that can be added up with a calculator.

General Damages

General damages are also referred to as non-economic damages. These are damages that cannot be measured by a calculator, such as pain, suffering, metal anguish, PTSD, prolonged physical therapy or medical treatment, permanent disfigurement or scarring, and other conditions that cause a personal injury victim to lose overall enjoyment of life.

It is common for a personal injury victim to be entitled to both kinds of damages. Additional categories of damages that may be awarded in a personal injury lawsuit include punitive damages and future damages.

How to Determine Your Damages and Losses After an Accident

If you are wondering which damages you or your family are entitled to after being seriously injured in a wrongful accident, it is necessary to consult with an experienced Indiana personal injury lawyer. Accident attorneys can provide a free case evaluation that will allow you to discuss your questions and concerns with a licensed professional.

There are many ways a personal injury lawyer can prove your damages. You should save all medical bills, receipts, and any other type of documentation that shows the effects of your injuries. You should also save records showing when you missed work. You attorney will also help in obtaining the information for your claim.

Not sure which personal injury attorney in Indiana to choose for help you with your case? Contact the Law Office of Craven, Hoover, and Blazek P.C. at 317-881-2700 to schedule a free case evaluation with a seasoned Indianapolis Indiana accident attorney you can trust to recover the settlement or verdict you deserve. We represent victims all throughout the state of Indiana and Indiana residents injured in other states.

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4 Reasons Why Your Accident Case Will Likely End in a Settlement

Posted on January 5, 2021 by admin

In a personal injury case, a settlement is reached when the defendant’s insurance adjuster offers compensation to the plaintiff or injured party. Upon accepting the offer, the plaintiff fully relinquishes all rights to pursue any other claims against the defendant in relation to the personal injury case. It is a fact that most accident claims settle rather than go to trial. But why do most personal injury claims end this way? Well, for the same reasons yours likely will.

Continue reading to learn 4 reasons why your personal injury case will probably settle out of court, and how to get your accident claim on this track toward a successful outcome.

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At Which Point are Settlements Offered in a Personal Injury Case?

During the course of a personal injury accident case, a settlement might be offered by the opposing party at virtually any point. Most often, a settlement is submitted by the insurance adjuster after the accident claim arises, but before it is actually filed. This is a strategy used by insurance companies to get the injured victim or plaintiff to quickly settle for a small payment. In fact, this technique is a prominent reason why all accident victims need to hire a seasoned and skilled Indianapolis personal injury lawyer to represent their case.

Without adequate legal representation, accident victims are more vulnerable to accepting an offer that is less than what their claim is actually worth. Be sure to hire an experienced Indiana personal injury attorney as soon as possible to get your claim started on the right track, and to obtain the maximum settlement or verdict for your case.

Many Personal Injury Cases Settle Out of Court Because:

1. Cost Control and Risk Mitigation

Agreeing to a settlement tends to put personal injury defendants’ insurance carriers at an advantage because they have more control over the risks that might be involved in facing litigation from an injured victim. At the same time, they can mitigate their legal expenses by avoiding certain costs or excessive fees. You see, most insurance companies have it in their business model to payout such claims, as it is usually an inevitable aspect of the industry. But they do not want to pay too much, nor more than they have to. Trial is expensive, and you never know just how long it can go on. By avoiding trial, insurance companies avoid paying extra in court fees and legal costs.

2. Professional Discretion

Insurance companies do not like to put their legal matters in the public eye. So, many choose to settle with accident victims to avoid going to trial, which would be included in public records. This protects their public brand, character, value, and overall reputation. This is very common in defective product and product liability cases. Manufacturers and distributors do not want to be known for producing unsafe or dangerous products, so they will usually try to avoid going through a big public trial. It is common for settlements to attempt to include a requirement of confidentiality, protecting the defendant from negative publicity.

3. Faster Resolution and Remuneration

For accident victims, settling out of court will speed up the process for full and fair compensation. Trials can extend over a period of several months, sometimes years. When you add in appeals, it can take even longer to reach a resolution, and the resolution might not be what a plaintiff might expect. Furthermore, waiting this long to collect compensation for an injured victim’s damages and losses can cause excessive stress and struggle for both the victim and their immediate family.

4. A Guaranteed Payout

The primary reason why most personal injury cases settle out of court is because it gives the plaintiff, whether the injured victim or their next of kin, the guarantee of payment. Not only does a plaintiff know they will be compensated, but with the help of their lawyer, they will have an opportunity to negotiate for a fair settlement amount.

Your Leading Personal Injury Lawyers in Indianapolis, Indiana

Call Craven, Hoover, and Blazek P.C. at 317-881-2700 to consult with our skilled personal injury accident attorneys in Indianapolis, Indiana. Accident attorneys, Daniel Craven, Ralph Hoover, and Keith Blazek retain extensive trial and litigation experience representing injured victims in various types of personal injury cases. We offer free initial consultations to assess your case. Best of all, we never collect lawyer fees unless we recover compensation for you! We represent injured persons throughout the State of Indiana.

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