How Much Should You Ask for in a Personal Injury Settlement?

While a personal injury resulting from negligence usually ends with a settlement, it can be difficult to know how much to ask for. Personal injury cases typically vary, and some tend to have more value than others, depending on multiple factors. Fortunately, several methods can help you understand the value of your personal injury claim.

If you or someone you loved was injured and filed a personal injury claim to pursue a settlement, you’ll know the process can be long and tiring, especially when determining how much to ask for. At High Rise Financial, we help you access quick pre-settlement legal funding to assist you during your recovery period while awaiting your settlement. Regardless of the personal injury you sustained, we help you with the legal funding you need.

Methods for Calculating a Personal Injury Settlement

Calculating compensation involves assessing both economic damages and non-economic damages. Monetary damages refer to solid numbers, such as medical bills after an accident, which give the exact figures of the settlement amount. Adding applicable expenses after the accident gives you the total economic damages you might ask the at-fault party for.

Meanwhile, non-economic damages mean compensation for pain and suffering, loss of social companionship, loss of enjoyment of life, and other damages. There’s no objective way to calculate non-economic damages, but working with a personal injury lawyer can help estimate your claim’s value. Generally, lawyers use daily and multiplier methods to determine the value of non-economic damages, as explained below:

• Daily – This method determines the value of your pain and suffering on a daily basis, mainly through your annual salary multiplied by the number of days you spend recovering.
• Multiplier – This method focuses on other forms of compensation, such as medical expenses, and multiplies it by a set of numbers between one and five. These numbers are often selected based on the severity of your injuries.

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Expenses to Include in Your Personal Injury Claim

Determining expenses to include in your claim is the most challenging part of determining the amount of compensation to ask for in a personal injury case. Some of the expenses associated with your recovery that you can include in your claim are:

• Medical expenses
• Property damages
• Lost wages
• Mental healthcare
• Physical therapy expenses

Documenting every expense you incur during your recovery is crucial, as you claim damages as compensation in your personal injury case. Having insights into these expenses helps determine the right amount to request from the defendant.

Potential Compensation Amounts in a Personal Injury Settlement

Compensation amounts for personal injuries often depend on the severity of the case. For example, if you sustained severe injuries, struggled with your recovery, or experienced a significant impact on your daily life, your potential settlement might be higher. Judges and juries also consider other factors when determining the payment amount applicable to your claim.

The at-fault party’s actions can contribute significantly to your claim’s value, and you can receive a larger amount if the other party acted entirely negligently. Other factors that influence how much you can ask for in a personal injury settlement include:

• Applicable laws
• Negotiations
• Long-term impact
• Going to trial
• Precedents
• Impact on daily life
• Disability and disfigurement
• Necessary medical procedures
• Legal representation
• The extent of injuries or treatment
• Insurance policy limits

Can Negotiation Affect Your Personal Injury Settlement?

Negotiation is critical when settling and determining a potential personal injury settlement. Most insurance companies and adjusters prefer settling matters out of court by presenting an offer to victims. However, the amount offered can be inadequate and insufficient to cover all the damages that resulted from an accident.

A personal injury lawyer can negotiate with the other party to agree on a reasonable settlement. Although some personal injury claims end there, most cases can proceed to court, especially if your lawyer finds the amount offered is insufficient to cover all your damages. Your personal injury lawyer can try to negotiate for a fair compensation amount, but the matter can go to court if the negotiation fails.

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How Your Actions Can Affect Your Damages Award

In some cases, an injured person’s action or inaction can result in an accident, diminishing the compensation amount available in a personal injury case. These actions or inactions include:

Comparative Negligence

If you were partially or entirely at fault for the accident that led to your injuries, chances are any damages award offered reflects this. This is because most states follow the comparative negligence rule, which determines damages based on the degree of fault in personal injury cases.

Contributory Negligence

Some states adhere to a contributory negligence standard for personal injury cases, where victims may not recover damages if they are deemed partially liable for the accident. This makes it difficult to pursue compensation if you contributed to your injuries. However, an experienced personal injury lawyer can help you fight for your rights, increasing your chance of recovering damages from the other party.

Failure to Mitigate Damages After the Accident

Most states require personal injury victims to take reasonable steps to mitigate or minimize financial impacts resulting from an accident. For example, failing to seek medical treatment, contact the police, or gather the necessary evidence from the scene can significantly reduce the settlement amount. Therefore, following some critical steps after an accident is essential to increase your personal injury settlement amount.

Looking for Pre-Settlement Personal Injury Funding? Contact High Rise Financial Today

Regardless of how much you ask for after an accident, some factors can delay the time it takes to recover damages and receive the funds you need to get your life back on track. At High Rise Financial, we offer quick, no-risk, and easy legal funding while you await your personal injury settlement funding. Contact us to find out more or apply for your pre-settlement funding today.

Call or text (877) 735-0016 or fill out our form to apply today for free.