From car accidents and workplace injuries to dog bites and slip-and-falls, personal injury accidents can be incredibly devastating, and they can leave us feeling like we’re drowning in expenses. If you’ve been injured in an accident, you may be able to make a personal injury claim for your losses. However, the amount that you may be owed can vary widely depending on the circumstances of your case.
Learn about the factors that may limit your personal injury settlement, the types of damages that you may be able to claim, and average settlement amounts for claims like yours. You should be able to find the information you need to determine roughly how much you may be owed.
One of the largest determining factors behind how much you may be owed is fault: if you are found partially at fault for your accident, you will not be able to make a claim for the full cost of your injury. Instead, you will only be able to make a claim for the amount equivalent to your responsibility. In other words, if you’re found 10% at fault for your accident, the maximum amount you will be able to claim is 90% of your losses and suffering.
Getting full compensation for personal injury cases depends on being able to make a strong argument defending your claim. Without help from a personal injury attorney, you could be putting your settlement at risk.
Compensation for personal injury claims is meant to be able to account for all types of suffering and harm caused by a personal injury. With that in mind, calculating what you’re owed won’t be a one-part process. Instead, financial relief in personal injury settlements is generally split into three categories: economic, non-economic, and punitive damages.
Economic damages can include all of the financial losses that a person has or may suffer due to a personal injury, such as the cost of medical treatment. Economic damages are calculated by adding up the total of all personal injury expenses using things like receipts and medical records.
Non-economic damages aren’t as straightforward as economic compensation. Non-economic financial relief is meant to compensate victims for the pain and suffering damages they’ve faced due to their injuries. This type of compensation is calculated by multiplying the total economic damages by a factor between 1.5 and 5. Non-economic damages may be more difficult to prove than economic damages; if you plan on seeking non-economic relief, you should seek help from a personal injury lawyer.
Unlike economic and non-economic compensation, punitive damages are not meant to compensate victims for a specific loss or type of suffering. Instead, punitive damages are meant to punish wrongdoing by at-fault parties. Punitive damages are most likely to be awarded in cases involving fraud or malicious wrongdoing.
Of course, knowing the types of damages that may be covered by a personal injury lawsuit is not the same as understanding what specific losses may be included in your personal injury settlement. If you are found completely innocent of your accident, you may be eligible for up to full compensation for the following losses:
If you’re unsure what compensation you may be owed for your case, personal injury lawyers at The Lopez Law Group can provide guidance.
One way to get a better idea of how much you may be owed for your personal injury is by comparing your case to other, similar cases. Below you can find the average personal injury settlements for various types of personal injuries:
Every case is different, and even if your personal injury falls into one of the categories above, you still may be owed more or less than the average amounts listed above. A personal injury settlement calculator may also give a figure that doesn’t accurately reflect what you can expect. The best way to get an idea of what you may be owed for your injury claim is by talking to a personal injury lawyer.
Even if you’re owed full compensation for your personal injury, there are still many hurdles standing between you and a fair settlement. To get maximum compensation for your personal injury claim, follow the tips below:
If you’ve been injured in a personal injury accident, you could be facing piles of medical bills and a crater of lost wages. Getting help from a personal injury lawyer may be essential to getting the compensation that you need to recover.
Personal injuries can leave us struggling to know what to do next, but you don’t have to face the process of seeking compensation on your own. With a personal injury law firm by your side, you can rest assured that your rights are being protected.
If you’re looking for an experienced personal injury and car accident attorney who will put your needs first, you need help from The Lopez Law Group. We would be proud to help you fight for a reasonable settlement.
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Austin, TX 78752
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