Personal injury claims arise every day from car accidents, medical malpractice, slip and falls, and other incidents. Under California law, victims of personal injury are entitled to compensation for their damages and losses if the negligence or intentional actions of another party caused their harm.
Since every personal injury case is unique, settlement values can differ greatly even in similar cases. But how do you increase the settlement value in personal injury claims? There are various factors that can significantly influence your personal injury settlement. This includes whether or not you work with an experienced personal injury attorney, your actions during and after the accident, your level of fault, the severity of your injuries, and many others.
At Brown & Gessell, we have served victims of personal injury for almost two decades and guided them toward fair settlements. The offer most victims of personal injury receive for their injuries and other losses from an insurance company at the beginning of their claim is usually less than what they deserve.
However, with a dedicated legal team by your side, you can increase your settlement value and seek compensation adequate to your losses if the circumstances of your case allow it. Contact our law firm today for a free consultation and let us hear your story. Find out more about your legal options to learn if you have a strong case on your hands. Here is everything you need to know about personal injury claims and settlements in California.
Understanding the Factors that Influence Personal Injury Settlement Value
In personal injury claims you need as much evidence as possible to increase your settlement value. However, the evidence that you must gather is not only meant to prove fault and liability but also to defend against possible allegations of negligence and fault.
This is because California follows a pure comparative negligence system. According to this legal doctrine, all parties involved in an accident can be assigned a percentage of fault based on their actions and negligence.
Even if someone is partially at fault for an accident, they can still recover damages, but the percentage of fault assigned to them will be used to reduce their final settlement value. This is why seeking legal assistance in a personal injury claim is crucial, as an experienced personal injury lawyer will not only help victims strengthen their claim but also defend them from accusations that might reduce their fair settlement amount.
Gathering Strong Evidence to Support Your Claim
Since the value of your personal injury claim depends on your ability to prove fault and defend against accusations, strong evidence is necessary on both ends. Victims of personal injury must gather evidence to prove the other party’s fault and their damages.
Evidence in personal injury claims can include witness statements, police reports, medical records, expert testimonies, personal testimonies, injury photos, and video surveillance footage.
For example, in car accident cases, the police report can be used to determine fault. In medical malpractice cases, expert witness testimony from other professional healthcare providers can highlight how the defendant breached the standard of care they should have granted to their patient.
The medical expenses for personal injuries, including ongoing medical care, should be preserved by victims so they can seek compensation for their expenses and also highlight their economic and non-economic damages.
For example, if a personal injury victim suffered emotional distress, anxiety, PTSD, or other mental health conditions, therapist sessions, and medication expenses can be used to prove the consequences of the accident on the victim’s mental health. The mental health professional’s statement and the victim’s personal accounts, as well as that of their family and friends, can also be used to highlight emotional trauma and other consequences of the accident.
The Importance of Timely and Accurate Documentation
Accurate and timely documentation of a victim’s injuries, medical treatments, and related expenses, also play a huge role in the value of a personal injury settlement. For example, if a victim does not seek medical attention as soon as possible after the event, the insurance company or at-fault party can argue that their injuries were not related to the incident or that their injuries were not that serious.
This is why it is crucial to seek medical attention immediately after an accident. The records serve as a causal link between your injuries and the accident and can affect the value of your personal injury claim.
The value of your claim will also be affected if you follow all treatment recommendations and keep detailed records of lost wages and related out-of-pocket expenses. Lost income can show how debilitating the victim’s injuries are.
The victim’s quality of life and their ability to enjoy daily life activities, including hobbies, can also influence the total value of their settlement claim. Victims can show the impact of their injuries by detailing all the physical and emotional consequences caused by the unfortunate event in a journal. This way, they can seek compensation for pain and suffering, emotional anguish, and other non-economic damages.
Working With a Personal Injury Lawyer
An experienced personal injury attorney can affect the value of your personal injury claim through their ability to strengthen your claim, gather evidence, work alongside third-party experts, and negotiate on your behalf.
A lawyer can also help victims identify all the potentially liable parties in a personal injury claim. This commonly occurs in car accidents. In a car accident claim, there can be multiple liable parties.
For example, if your car accident case involved a truck driver, the company they work for might share some liability for failing to provide proper training or engaging in bad hiring practices. Potentially liable parties can also include manufacturers, service providers, or even government agencies responsible for keeping the roads safe.
Any personal injury case can have multiple liable parties. However, the ability to prove the involved parties’ liability rests on collecting evidence, which your accident lawyer can help you with.
Negotiation Strategies to Increase Personal Injury Claim Value
The average settlement amount for a personal injury settlement is difficult to estimate since each case has specific circumstances and context. However, negotiation strategies to increase the personal injury claim value are needed to justify the demand for your compensation.
Patience is needed in the claims process because there will be a lot of back and forth with the insurance company. A lawyer can help you determine your total damages. Knowing the full extent of your damages is essential in pursuing a fair settlement amount, which is why you should never accept an early offer. During insurance negotiations, the trial reputation of your lawyer can be used against an insurance company that wants to avoid a personal injury lawsuit.
The Role of Expert Witnesses in Enhancing Settlement Value
In a personal injury case where proving fault is challenging, lawyers often work alongside third-party experts such as accident reconstruction professionals, or healthcare providers. These experts can give authoritative statements regarding the extent of your injuries, their impact, or how the accident occured.
In a car accident case, an insurance adjuster will be dispatched to investigate the accident but their word is not final, which is where expert witnesses come in. Expert witnesses can prove who caused the accident and boost the value of your non-economic and economic damages.
Avoiding Common Pitfalls That Can Devalue Your Claim
Different factors can devalue your personal injury settlement. This includes admitting guilt, not seeking medical attention or following treatment recommendations, or providing inconsistent or incomplete information.
Even posting content on social media can potentially damage your case. Many victims fall for an early settlement proposition, which is usually too low. This early offer cannot adequately cover a victim’s damages because they are unaware of the full extent of their injuries and the ongoing medical treatment costs. Health complications can also occur, which is why accepting an early offer from the insurance company is never a good idea. Consult a lawyer before accepting an offer.
Proving Liability and Causation
A personal injury settlement is most often dictated by a party’s ability to establish the causal link between the accident and their injuries. Your injuries, along with your property damage, pain and suffering, lost wages, and other losses can be used as important evidence in your case.
Because of this, documenting the accident scene is crucial. Victims should take photos of the accident scene and their injuries to pursue fair compensation. The most important aspect of a personal injury case is proving that the other party owed you a duty of care, breached that duty, and because of this breach you suffered damages.
Highlighting the Long-term Impact and Future Damages in Your Case
To increase your personal injury settlement value, you must provide a comprehensive picture of the long-term physical, emotional, and financial consequences that you have endured due to your injuries.
Medical bills, other medical expenses, and injury-related costs must all be carefully preserved and presented when you pursue compensation. Healthcare professionals can help you establish future medical treatment and rehabilitation costs and highlight your potential loss of earning capacity.
How a Personal Injury Attorney From Brown & Gessell Can Help
At Brown & Gessell, our dedicated personal injury lawyers have helped numerous victims of personal injury seek a fair settlement for their damages and losses. Devastating injuries are not a prerequisite to pursue non-economic damages such as pain and suffering, as each victim experiences trauma differently.
Our lawyers can help you receive fair compensation for your past, present, and future lost income, property damage, medical expenses, and other losses. Contact us today for a free consultation to learn more.
The Personal Injury Cases We Handle
At Brown & Gessell, we take on various types of personal injury cases. Whether you are a victim of a motor vehicle accident, slip and fall, medical malpractice, product defect, or suffered a workplace injury, you deserve to have someone by your side to help you understand your legal options and rights.