After suffering a personal injury, the recovery process can be lengthy and costly. Under this situation, getting a proper claim valuation remains a top priority. But this isn’t easy when you’re in pain. The suffering from the injury can blur your assessment, posing the risk of undervaluing a claim.

If you need more clarification about your assessment or ability to get a fair valuation for your claim after a car accident involvement, enlisting a personal injury lawyer can go a long way in getting things right. Lawyers understand the various aspects that affect the value of compensation claims and know what strengthens or weakens your claim.

Experienced personal injury lawyers can take steps or advise on the best way to maximize claims. They can support you in every claim stage to ensure you make good decisions. If you get a personal injury attorney to handle your case, here are five factors your lawyer would use to value your claim:

1. Non-Economic Damages

The value of an injury claim is determined mainly by non-economic factors. These factors include pain and suffering, the impact on normal body functionality, and emotional anguish. Compared to economic damages that can be quantified easily by looking at lost wages and medical bills, the calculation of non-economic damages is more complex.

Experienced car accident attorneys calculate injury claim settlements by adding economic damages to a multiplier. In most cases, the multiplier ranges between 1 for mild injuries and 5 for severe ones, where victims suffer lifelong injuries.

Lawyers apply higher multipliers where victims suffer injuries that result in dependencies on others, like traumatic brain injuries, broken bones, and spine and nerve damage.

Such a multiplier may also apply to claims where victims suffer permanent or scarred disfigurement or must take medications for a long time and attend many follow-up appointments.

On the other hand, lawyers apply lower multipliers when accident victims suffer soft tissue injuries, don’t suffer visible scars or permanent injuries, don’t require medication to recover, and only incur costs for medical diagnosis, not treatment.

2. Strength Of The Case

The strength of an injury claim is the other thing your lawyer would look at when valuing your settlement. For solid cases where the other party’s guilt for your injuries is apparent, lawyers attach high value to the personal injury claim.

The settlement value is different for weak cases. A lower claim settlement becomes apparent if your lawyer experiences challenges building a watertight case due to problems such as the nature or extent of injuries and lack of witnesses.

3. Available Evidence

Personal injury lawyers evaluate the evidence available before determining the value of a claim. A personal injury claim must be supported by credible witness statements, photographs, and medical records documenting the extent and impact of injuries sustained.

You should demonstrate that you adhere to your treatment plan and any other advice your doctor gives. Further, it should be clear that no pre-existing conditions contributed to the injuries you sustained in the accident.

In the presence of credible evidence, lawyers pursue high settlements. However, when witness statements conflict or become biased, photographic evidence and medical records are lacking, lawyers would place a lower value on a claim.

4. Liability In The Accident

Additionally, personal injury lawyers consider a client’s liability when valuing a personal injury claim. If you admit partial liability for the accident, your lawyer’s valuation of your claim would be low. On the other hand, your claim’s value could increase where total liability rests with the other party.

Changes To Claim Valuation 

Although your lawyer can do everything possible to maximize your claim, you may receive a much higher or lower settlement. Filing personal injury compensation claims is never predictable. The valuation your lawyer attaches to your claim is just an estimation.

Many things you cannot control can happen during the legal process. While you should do everything possible to get fair compensation, the settlement you receive may be primarily determined by what the other party in the accident agrees to pay to resolve the claim.

Final Thoughts  

You should get fair compensation if you’re injured in a car crash or at the workplace. An effective way to achieve this is to sue the other party for negligence and file formal compensation. When pursuing compensation, you need to establish what your claim is worth.

Getting a personal injury lawyer is a sure and effective way to determine the value of your claim. Lawyers apply their skills and experience in estimating claim valuations. Considering the four factors discussed, a good lawyer can help you quantify your injuries’ economic and non-economic aspects for fair compensation.