HOW MUCH IS MY CASE WORTH?
Often times when people call me regarding their accident or injury law legal issue – one of the the first thing they ask is what their case is worth. Unfortunately the answer to this question is not always an easy and simple answer.
What Is The Process?
First we must understand all the facts and circumstances of each individual case and situation. We also need to understand exactly what expenses and damages have been incurred due to the negligence of others. In addition, we often times need to gather other outside information such as police reports and medical records. As you can imagine this can sometimes be a complex process. Only then can we examine and determine what the economic losses and non-economic damages are for a case.
What Are Economic Losses?
Economic losses usually include medical and hospital bills, loss of income, and can include property damage, etc… Basically these losses include anything that caused you to incur costs or financial liability due to the negligence of others.
What Are Non-Economic Damages?
These are damages that caused you pain and suffering due to the negligence of another party. A serious accident or injury can cause both mental trauma as well as physical trauma that can last a lifetime after the accident or injury has occurred. In addition, the severity of each personal injury case is different. Again, understanding what the value should be in each individual case can be extremely complex. For example, we recently saw a motor vehicle accident case that involved four college students. The students pulled out into traffic, and were “T-Boned” by a reckless driver. The accident caused the death of two of the four passengers in the vehicle, two passengers survived. Of the survivors, one survivor lost their boyfriend and best friend in the accident at the same time. Although the physical injuries were not severe, the mental trauma will last a lifetime. As you can imagine, it is not always easy to place a dollar value on damages.
How Are Losses & Damages Calculated?
We hire experts to help us calculate the damages. We use vocational experts (occupation / employment), medical professionals and doctors, economists, and others to understand the true value of each case.
For example, we work with and have relationships with vocational experts. These people are experts in occupation and employment, and can help us understand if you will be able to perform the same type of work you did before your accident and injury. They also help us understand if you will be able to work again in the future, or if a vocational job change may be required. For example, an electrician who was severely physically injured may never be able to perform the type of labor they before the accident or injury occurred.
After understanding the economic losses, and the non-economic damages – we can then understand what the true and full value of an accident or injury law case is. Lawyers and law firms that do not regularly practice within personal injury and accident law often times do not understand the importance of utilizing the assistance of outside professionals to maximize the true and full value of a personal injury or accident law case.
Contact an Experienced Personal Injury & Accident Attorney
No matter what kind of personal injury accident you are dealing with, attorney Matt LaTulip can explain your rights and protect your best interests. Contact our law firm online or call 219-756-7600 to schedule a free initial consultation with attorney LaTulip. If you are unable to travel, attorney Matt LaTulip can come to you.