What Factors Affect Compensation Claims in Personal Injury Cases?

Knowing you suffer injuries because someone was negligent is difficult; it can turn one’s life upside down. Thankfully, personal injury law allows victims in personal injury cases to file a compensation claim against someone who harmed them. That is why you must work with an attorney to ensure you get the fairest compensation for damages.

However, the compensation amount you eventually receive will depend on a few factors, and these factors can increase it. Keep reading to discover the common factors that affect how much compensation you can claim in your personal injury case.

The Seriousness of Your Injuries

The severity of your injuries is the most critical factor that affects your compensation amount. You can use a variety of formulas to calculate the value of your claim, most of which consider the cause and severity of your injuries.

Generally, the more serious your injury is, the more compensation you can claim. Therefore, catastrophic injuries such as facial deformity, brain damage, spinal cord injuries, nerve damage, and organ damage typically attract high claim values.

The Property Damage Level

You can receive compensation for any property you lost during the accident, including natural and personal property. Real property refers to land and things fixed, such as your home, gym, and swimming pool.

Conversely, personal property refers to things you keep with you, such as your electronic devices, clothing, vehicle, and jewelry. If you lost any of these things due to someone’s malicious or negligent actions, you can add them to your final claim.

Loss of the Ability to Earn

If you sustain such severe injuries that you can no longer work and fend for yourself, your compensation value increases. You can get compensation for the loss of the means of earning wages, provided you can provide the proper documentation. You must prove that you missed work and wage slips at least three months after the accident.

You may not have missed work due to physical injuries; it could be that the accident scarred you emotionally. In this case, you need testimonials from psychiatrists and neuropsychologists to prove your condition.

Your Degree of Fault in the Accident

If you were a perpetrator in the accident that caused your injuries, your role in the accident can affect the value of your compensation claim. How much your role in the accident affects your claim will depend on your jurisdiction. 

In most states, comparative negligence rules apply, meaning you can still recover compensation if you are partly at fault for the accident. However, the judge will deduct your percentage of fault from the final compensation amount you receive. For instance, if you are 30 percent at fault in an accident, you will only get 70 percent of the compensation you deserve.

Furthermore, in many states, compensation is not available if the degree of fault is above 50 percent. Meanwhile, some states follow the contributory negligence doctrine, which states that plaintiffs cannot recover compensation if they are one percentage at fault.

Conclusion

You may be entitled to compensation if you or anyone you know sustained injuries due to someone else’s negligence or malicious acts. Therefore, it is important to understand your rights in the case as it will help you in every stage of the proceedings.

Personal injury law has many complex doctrines, rules, and procedures that can be very easy to miss. A personal injury lawyer can help ensure you do not miss your chance at fair compensation.