Major Factors that can affect your Personal Injury Settlement Amount

If you get involved in a road accident or any other personal injury cases, the results can be extremely painful and traumatic at times. It can even affect your quality of life. Hence, it is important to consult a personal injury attorney and file a case against the person who is responsible for your damages. This will let you obtain monetary compensation from the opposite party. This monetary compensation will depend on your damages as well as the way your injury lawyer argues in the court or with the opposite party. Now, most people would be keen to know how much they can expect as compensation when it comes to their personal injury cases. Even though your injury attorney will not be able to give a specific answer for this, he would be able to provide a rough estimate.

Note that no two personal injury cases will be exactly alike and so will be the settlement amount. However, there are certain common elements that are used to calculate the financial compensation that a plaintiff is entitled to. In other words, there are certain factors that can either multiply or reduce your settlement amount. It is to be noted that in most personal injury cases, a multiplier will be used to calculate the compensation. Note that higher the damages, higher will be the multiplier. Some of those factors that can spike up the multiplier include;

• Catastrophic injuries such as brain damages, compound fractures, amputation, spinal damage, nerve injuries, etc.
• High Medical expenses
• The medical treatment by a reputed clinic or doctor; Note that appropriate medical assistance tends to increase the settlement amount
• Medication prescription
• Long recovery period
• Physical or mental stress as a result of the injury
• Permanent injuries such as scars, loss of mobility, weakness, stiffness, etc.
• No share of fault
• Daily life disruptions such as loss of income, missed training or school, canceled special events, missed recreation or vacation, etc.
• Trustworthy witnesses who can illustrate the incident

The same way, certain factors indicate the chances of applying lower multiplier while calculating the compensation for your personal injury cases as well. Some of those factors are;

• Soft or mild tissue injury such as a bruise, sprain, or strain
• Higher expenses for diagnosis rather than treatment
• Not availing appropriate treatment post the injury
• Momentary medical treatment
• No permanent injuries or residuals caused by the injury
• No emotional stress or other severe physical injuries other than the documented injuries
• Share of fault
• Impatience or disorganization on your part
• No witness to illustrate the incident in the court

So, remember these major factors that can affect your personal injury settlement if you ever need to.