Car accidents can be expensive for all involved. Vehicles can be damaged beyond repair, and medical bills for necessary hospital and specialist treatment can start stacking up. If your injuries require you to take time off work, you may also not be making an income to cover your everyday costs.
Knowing that a car accident can be detrimental to your bank account, you may be curious about how much you could expect to receive from filing a personal injury claim. These factors can influence a potential payout:
Your Injuries
Most car injury lawyers say that the more serious your injuries, the more expensive they are to treat. The more money you need to pay for medical care, the higher your settlement figure might be.
The best lawyers consider your medical bills when calculating a settlement amount to send in a demand letter to the person responsible for your car accident. If your accident injuries are going to be expensive to treat now and into the future, they’ll request an amount reflective of that to ensure you’re not financially affected by an incident that wasn’t your fault.
Lost Work Time and Earnings
There are more repercussions after a car accident than painful injuries and expensive medical bills. You’re also often faced with the prospect of taking time off work. Depending on your injuries’ severity, you might even be unable to return to your workplace in the same capacity.
The best car accident lawyers consider lost work time and earnings when calculating a possible settlement figure. You may also be entitled to more if your personal injury left you unable to return to work at all.
Property Damage
It’s usually not just your body that takes on damage in a car accident. Personal property, like your vehicle and its contents, can also be. If you have receipts for how much your damaged vehicle and its contents cost to repair or replace, these costs may be added to the calculations for a settlement.
Evidence
You can’t just say you were hurt in an accident and had your personal property damaged and expect the person responsible to believe you and cover the costs. In many personal injury cases, a victim must be able to prove that someone else’s ill intentions or negligence contributed. Many legal elements make up the average personal injury claim, including:
- A defendant having a legal duty to a plaintiff
- A defendant breaching that legal duty
- Causation between the plaintiff’s injuries and the legal duty breach
- A plaintiff suffering damages
Once you’ve got a solid foundation for a personal injury claim, you must also have strong evidence, such as:
- Tangible evidence
- Video footage and pictures
- Eyewitness statements
- A police report
- Medical bills
Death
Someone dying in a car accident due to someone else’s negligence or ill intentions can certainly influence the outcome of a personal injury case and settlement figure. Relatives of the person who died can file a wrongful death claim, potentially making them entitled to compensation for:
- Medical expenses
- Lost wages
- Pain and suffering
- Funeral and burial expenses
- Loss of consortium
Many things can influence a car accident settlement figure you might be entitled to. If you’re unsure about your entitlements, consider contacting a car accident attorney for advice.
Photo by Emil Kalibradov on Unsplash
