How much is Your Personal Injury Case Worth?

If you are looking forward to file a claim for your personal injury, be it a slip and fall accident, motor vehicle accident, injury due to medical negligence or any other reason, it is inevitable to determine how much does the injury owes you so that you can fetch a fair claim from the responsible party and/or from the insurer.  

For this you need to know the things you can claim for and how much the compensation should be. Here are some tips to help you determine how much your personal injury case worth is:

According to the severity of the injuries sustained, personal injury damages can be classified into two main types namely compensatory and punitive damages. 

Compensatory injuries or damages are those for which you can ask for monetary compensation from the responsible party or from the insurance agency. For instance, if you are a victim of a car accident, then the compensatory damages might include cost of car repair, lost wages, cost of medical assistance and rehabilitation, and hospital bills and many alike. There are certain damages like these that can be quantified easily. However, it is very difficult to place a monetary value on other forms of damages like suffering, pain and inability to enjoy a normal life because of limitations caused by the accident.

If the personal injury is very serious then along with compensatory damages you can also seek punitive damages award. Though they are awarded to plaintiff or the injured, these damages are aimed at punishing the defendant for its careless actions. Since, no one can decide a fair value for such damages, each state has set a particular limit on such awards to provide the plaintiff with maximum possible support and relief.   

The first step after getting injured is to seek medical care. After doing this, you must inform the insurance company about the injury and file a claim for the same as soon as possible, since most of the insurance companies follow strict time limits regarding such procedures. You may also consult an attorney to identify any additional damages which you can file a suit for.