Factors in Personal Injury Claim Amounts

If you’ve been injured and have started the process of filing a personal injury claim, you probably realize that there are a number of factors that can go into your personal injury claim amount. In addition to the obvious expenses, such as any medical expenses you may incur, there are often other factors that can contribute to the amount of your personal injury claim.

Nature of the Injury

One of the first things that have to be taken into account in determining the amount of your personal injury claim is the nature of the injury. If the injury is relatively minor and can be address through medication or common medical procedures, chances are your claim amount is going to be less than if it is a life-threatening or debilitating injury that’s harder to treat.

Financial Losses

Sometimes, a personal injury will also cause you to experience a financial loss. If that’s the case, you can include that financial loss as part of your personal injury claim amount. Financial losses include things like lost wages, but they can also include things like lost sick time or vacation time. If your injury has affected your income or your financial standing, you may be able to include those items on your claim.

If you’re self-employed, financial losses can be harder to prove, but you can still claim them.  You may need to hire an expert accountant to help you gather the paperwork and data to prove your financial loss.

Medical Expenses

Your medical expenses, obviously, factor into your personal injury claim amount. This includes things like hospitalization costs, ambulance costs and any other costs you might incur that are directly related to your medical care. However, you need to recognize that it isn’t just your current doctor bills that will be included. You also need to take into account likely future medical expenses related to your injury, as well.

Personal Property

You may also be able to include damaged personal property in your injury claim amount. For example, if your cell phone was destroyed as a result of your accident, you may be able to claim its value. The same holds true for your clothing, vehicle, or even your home, depending on the nature of the accident.

Fault

In some cases, the court may assign a certain degree of responsibility, or fault, for the accident to various parties. In some cases, you may be held at fault as well as the other party. This means that a percentage of the injury claim amount would be your responsibility, and a percentage would be the other party’s responsibility.

Worker’s Compensation

If your accident happened at work, you may also be entitled to a workers compensation claim. A different process altogether from your personal injury claim, a worker’s compensation claim may also be able to cover any lost wages or the cost of insurance.