Personal Injury Lawyer

One of the first things you may wonder while considering a personal injury lawsuit is how much the settlement might be. Knowing an average amount might give you an idea, but because each case is so unique, you should never base your decisions off an average. In one study, the average settlement amount was $52,900, while in another study, it ranged from $3,000 to $75,000. As you can see, these are drastically different and may not give you an accurate idea of what to expect. The following are some factors that may play a role in your settlement amount.

How Severe Your Injuries Are

As you might imagine, the worse the injury, the higher the settlement value. If an injury requires a length of time being admitted to the hospital, a couple surgeries, physical therapy and prescription medication, it’s going to be valued higher than a broken arm that takes six weeks to heal. Permanent injuries are also valued higher, including disfigurement, brain trauma, loss of the use of part of your body or diminished mobility.

How Much the Injury Disrupts Your Life

If your injuries can be treated well enough so you can get back to life, your settlement may be lower. If your injuries will permanently prohibit you from walking, participating in a certain hobby or even going back to work, those are more disruptive to your life and will raise the settlement value.

How You Were Treated

Sometimes you’ll be treated by just one physician and other times you’ll have a team of medical professionals who will take the case. If your treatment is more extensive, the settlement could be higher than if it was straightforward. A surgery that lasts an entire day would add more value than a surgery that is done in one hour. Years-worth of physical therapy will increase the value more than months-worth of therapy. As you can see, how you are treated plays a large role.

How Much Emotional Trauma You Experienced

In some cases you can claim emotional damages as well. This includes loss of consortium, loss of the enjoyment of life, suffering from anxiety or depression, pain and suffering, and a variety of other psychological types of trauma. If no emotional trauma exists, this may not have an effect on your settlement.

Gaining a Greater Understanding

If you’d like to learn and understand more about personal injury settlement amounts, it might be best to turn to the professionals. Call a personal injury lawyer, like from Davis & Brusca, today.