If you’ve been injured in an accident, you may be entitled to compensation for your injuries. However, because each case has different facts and circumstances, victims with similar injuries may not end up receiving similar amounts of compensation. How much your personal injury claim is worth can depend on many factors.
This article will look at the key factors that influence the value of a personal injury case, including the severity of your injuries, medical expenses, lost wages, and how liability is determined.
What Is a Personal Injury Claim?
A personal injury claim is a legal process used by someone who has been injured due to another person’s negligence or wrongful actions to seek compensation. In order to recover compensation, you typically need to prove all four elements of negligence.
These elements are:
- The defendant owed you a duty of care
- The defendant breached this duty of care (i.e., they did not act in a reasonable manner)
- You were injured because the defendant breached their duty of care
- You suffered damages as a result of your injuries.
Damages are the losses you’ve incurred as a result of your accident.
What Are the Common Causes of Personal Injury Cases?
Here are just a few examples of situations that might give rise to a personal injury lawsuit:
- Motor vehicle accidents
- Slip and fall accidents
- Pedestrian accidents
- Defective products
- Medical malpractice
- Nursing home abuse
Each of these incidents can lead to serious injuries and financial burdens, making it essential to consult with a personal injury attorney to understand your rights and options.
What Types of Compensation Am I Entitled to?
There are two broad categories of damages to which you may be entitled: compensatory and punitive. Compensatory damages are designed to make the injured party “whole” again by reimbursing them for the financial, emotional, and physical consequences of their injury. These are the most common types of damages awarded in personal injury cases.
Punitive (or “extra”) damages may also be awarded in cases where the at-fault party has engaged in particularly dangerous or reckless behavior.
Compensatory damages can be broken down into two categories: economic and non-economic damages.
Economic Damages
Economic damages are tangible financial losses. These include lost wages if you missed work because of injuries caused by the accident, as well as loss of earning capacity if you can no longer do your current job. These also include medical costs for diagnosing and treating those injuries and repair costs for any property of yours damaged in the accident.
Non-Economic Damages
Non-economic damages are losses that are difficult to measure. These include pain and suffering, emotional distress (which may result from physical injury), and loss of consortium (damages experienced by your spouse or close relative due to the injuries you sustained in the accident).
Can I Still Recover Damages If I’m Partially at Fault?
Under Kentucky’s pure comparative negligence standard, you can still recover compensation if you are partially at fault. Your share of responsibility, however, will limit the amount of damages you can collect. For example, if you are found to be 20% at fault, your compensation will be reduced by 20%.
How Do You Calculate Damages?
Economic damages are relatively easy to figure out. They rely on concrete data, like medical bills and pay stubs. This is one reason why it’s so important to keep good records. Experts, such as medical professionals and economists, can provide estimates of future medical costs or lost earnings.
Calculating non-economic damages can be challenging. This is due to their subjective nature. There are two main ways to calculate non-economic damages: the multiplier method and the per diem method.
The Multiplier Method
With the multiplier method, we first calculate the total economic damages. That figure is then multiplied by a severity multiplier, which indicates the level of pain and suffering. The multiplier usually ranges from 1.5 to 5, with higher values indicating more severe injuries. The multiplier not only considers the severity of your injuries but also how they affect your daily life and your chances of recovery.
The Per Diem Method
The per diem method focuses on the time from the accident to when you achieve maximum medical improvement (i.e., the stage where further treatment is unlikely to improve your condition). After determining a daily value for your pain and suffering, the daily value is multiplied by the total number of days you experienced pain. This daily value considers both your income and a reasonable amount for pain and suffering.
Should I Hire a Lexington Personal Injury Lawyer to Handle My Case?
You are not required to hire a lawyer to handle your injury claim, but a lawyer can make this challenging process a little easier. While you are recovering from your injuries, Ross Mann Personal Injury Lawyers can work on your behalf to make sure you are fairly compensated. Using our in-depth knowledge of personal injury law, we can build the strongest possible case to maximize your recovery.
For more information, contact our law office at (859) 413-3900 to schedule a free consultation with a Lexington personal injury lawyer. We will listen to your case and help you take the following steps to pursue the compensation you deserve.
