What Factors Will Affect My Personal Injury Settlement?
Being injured in an accident can be devastating for victims and their families. Besides the physical and emotional trauma, many also incur substantial financial losses and expenses. Fortunately, many accident victims are able to recover compensation after their accidents, which can be critical in helping them put their lives back together.
Your Injuries Will Impact Your Damages
One of the key factors in determining how much a person can collect in a personal injury settlement is the severity of the person’s injuries. Generally, the more severe a person’s injury, the more he or she can expect to pay for treatment, especially if an injury requires surgery or therapy. Those suffering from severe injuries also miss more time from work when recovering and may even incur costs for personal care and in-home nursing services. Injuries that are so severe that they result in permanent impairment will also increase the value of a claim.
Liability for the Accident Could Affect Your Recovery
Who was primarily at fault for an accident will also dictate the type of settlement award that a person can expect, as can the injured party’s own contribution to the accident. This is because Florida’s comparative fault laws, while they allow injured claimants to seek damages even when they were partially at fault for an accident, also reduce the amount that they can recover. Basically, an injured party can expect to recover full compensation only if he or she is not to blame for any part of the accident. If, on the other hand, a claimant also contributed to the accident in some way, then compensation will be reduced in proportion to his or her degree of fault.
Other Factors that Could Affect Your Personal Injury Settlement
The specific facts and circumstances of a person’s case will also play a role in the recovery amount. These factors include:
- Whether a claimant had any prior injuries or preexisting medical conditions;
- The claimant and at-fault party’s insurance coverage and policy limits;
- The claimant’s statements and actions after the accident;
- How many parties are involved in the case; and
- The strength of the evidence of fault.
How these factors could affect the outcome of a person’s claim must be evaluated on a case by case basis. For an assessment of the strengths and weaknesses of your own claim, reach out to our legal team today.
A Dedicated Team of Florida Personal Injury Lawyers
The type of recovery that an accident victim can expect depends on a number of things, including the severity and type of the injury, the degree of negligence exhibited by the parties, and insurance coverage. It can be difficult to assess how these factors could affect your own settlement, so if you were hurt in an accident because of someone else’s negligence, call Boone & Davis to speak with our Florida personal injury lawyers about the details of your accident case. You can set up a free consultation by calling 954-566-9919 today.
Sources:
floridabar.org/rules/florida-standard-jury-instructions/civil-jury-instructions/civil-instructions/#500
law.cornell.edu/wex/settlement
