3 Factors That Affect Your Car Crash Claim
Factors Involved in Your Claim
If you were involved in a car crash and suffered an injury due to the negligence of somebody else, then you may be entitled to compensation. To find out how much of a settlement you could receive, there are a few factors that you need to take into consideration. Here are three factors that affect your compensation.
Injury Severity
One of the biggest things to consider is the severity of your injury. Some injuries have been known to lead to permanent disabilities or ongoing healthcare. If your injury compromised your quality of life, then you could be entitled to a larger settlement. Broken bones and spinal cord injuries tend to pay out the largest when it comes to settlements.
Not only do you take into consideration the medical bills that you already have, but you also take into consideration future medical bills. For example, if the doctor predicts that you will need ongoing physical therapy or surgeries, you can factor that into the settlement.
Partial Fault
When considering your settlement, you do have to take fault into account. In some states, if you were partially at fault, you cannot file a lawsuit. However, in most states, there is comparative fault. In a comparative fault state, your involvement in the car accident will affect your settlement. For instance, if you were 25% at fault, you would only be able to recover about 75% of all damages from the accident. Texas is a comparative fault state where it is deemed that if you are responsible for over 51% of the car accident, you will not be entitled to any compensation.
Emotional Trauma
After a serious accident, physical injuries might not be the only wounds that you carry. Incidents where you are injured can be traumatic and have serious emotional consequences. You may experience depression and anxiety or other mental health issues making life more difficult on a daily basis. You may be unable to work or care for yourself. If you can prove emotional harm, then this is calculated into your final settlement.
To prove emotional trauma, you will need to visit a mental health professional. He or she can provide the court with evidence that you have suffered from long-lasting psychological issues because of your car accident injury. Hiring a car accident lawyer from a firm like John K. Zaid & Associates can help give you an idea of how much your case is worth. There are a lot of factors that go into the final amount.