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I was recently rear ended by a cab and the cab driver's insurance
company split the accident into two claims, one for the car damage,
which came to $3,500, and the second for personal injury. The
insurance company wants to close out the personal injury claim. I
prefer to handle this directly without using a lawyer. My
chiropractic fees (4 visits) came to $200 and I was off work one day
due to sore back. I had to use a vacation day for this day off since
my company does not distinguish between sick days and vacation days.
My question is there a standard formula, or rule of thumb, in
calculating the personal injury settlement in simple cases like this?
Physically I am fine now and am not experiencing any lingering effects
from the accident.
Thanks,
PSC
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I'm often asked the question that's on everyone's mind when it comes time to
discuss settling a personal injury case--"How Much Is It Worth?"
Unfortunately, there's no simple answer. While it's easy to determine
damages in a contract case, it's much harder to put a dollar figure on, say,
the loss of use of one's legs.
To explain how lawyers reach the recommendations they make in evaluating
personal injury cases, I offer, as a small portion of the factors I
consider, the following:
1. The detailed facts about how, when, where and why the injury occurred, to
determine liability, assess what defenses may be available and estimate the
degree of fault which may be assessed against the injured person and the
defendant;
2. The injured person's medical history before and after the injury;
3. Past and future medical expenses, including hospital, doctor, drugs,
therapy and other expenses incurred for diagnosis and treatment;
4. Past and future loss of income arising from the injury;
5. Other past and future monetary losses arising from the injury;
6. How the injury has affected the injured person's ability to perform the
activities engaged in before the injury, including work, sports, social,
household and recreational;
7. How much insurance the defendant has; or if there is no insurance,
whether the defendant can pay a judgment;
8. The injured person's work history, marital status, educational history,
and appearance, credibility and demeanor as a witness;
9. The ability of the injured person to train for and perform other work,
the cost of retraining and the income which might be earned after
retraining;
10. The defendant's appearance, credibility and demeanor as a witness;
11. The availability and credibility of expert and non-expert witnesses on
liability and damage issues;
12. The applicable law in the state(s) where the case would or could be
filed;
13. Whether the case could be filed in or removed to federal court and, if
so, which one(s);
14. A history of jury verdicts in similar cases in the court(s) where the
case would be tried and a "feel" for how a jury there would be likely to
react to the case;
15. The estimated cost of taking the case through trial and possible appeal.
Depending on the case, there will be other factors to consider before a
proper evaluation can be made. These include the existence of liens against
the claim, the willingness or unwillingness of the injured person and the
defendant(s) to engage in what could become a lengthy legal battle, the
relative skills of the attorneys, judicial attitudes, etc.
Insurance companies give their adjusters special training to teach them how
to play on the lack of knowledge of people who aren't represented by
attorneys, because they simply don't know this sort of stuff. Do yourself a
favor--get a lawyer. You won't be able to get anywhere near what your case
is worth without one.
Brett
*****************************************************************
* Personal Injury/Malpractice Bankruptcy *
* *
* BRETT WEISS, P.C. *
* Attorneys at Law *
* Maryland, D.C. and Federal Bars *
* lawyer@erols.com *
* http://www.erols.com/lawyer *
* *
* Small Business Estates & Estate Planning *
*****************************************************************
The Small Print: This response is for discussion purposes only. It isn't
meant to be legal advice and you shouldn't treat it as such. If you want
legal advice, speak with a local lawyer familiar with your state's laws who
can review *all* of the facts and the law applicable to your situation.
*****************************************************************
<PAS> wrote in message news:h5rntvobcbdttc7t4fsdu6f3nu27f0dsej@4ax.com...
I was recently rear ended by a cab and the cab driver's insurance
company split the accident into two claims, one for the car damage,
which came to $3,500, and the second for personal injury. The
insurance company wants to close out the personal injury claim. I
prefer to handle this directly without using a lawyer. My
chiropractic fees (4 visits) came to $200 and I was off work one day
due to sore back. I had to use a vacation day for this day off since
my company does not distinguish between sick days and vacation days.
My question is there a standard formula, or rule of thumb, in
calculating the personal injury settlement in simple cases like this?
Physically I am fine now and am not experiencing any lingering effects
from the accident.
Thanks,
PSC
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