How Much Is My Claim Worth?

The most natural question our clients ask is, "How much is my claim worth?"

Perhaps the best way to answer the question is to explain, briefly, how we evaluate a claim.

With a personal injury claim, you are entitled to recover for all the damages which you have suffered. These damages may include:

1. Medical expenses;
   
2. Lost income, both past and future;
   
3. Damage to your personal property, such as your car;
   
4. Rental car and other expenses;
   
5. Reasonable compensation for permanent disability or impairment caused by the accident; and
   
6. An award of "general damages" for pain and suffering and the loss of enjoyment which often accompanies physical injury.

You can see that the value of a claim may be different for each and every claim. There is no magic formula which can be applied to arrive at a value.

For example, two people suffer the same injury. Let's say that it is the loss of use of the left hand. The medical expenses are identical, yet the value of the two claims will be substantially different, because one is an office worker, while the other is a professional pianist whose career was destroyed.

After considering all of the factors, including the effect upon your life as an individual, we place a value on a case using our knowledge of the law and our experience from having handled numerous personal injury cases.

We help our clients by identifying the right parties to pursue and locating the available insurance coverages or assets from which the claim can be paid. At the appropriate time, we help each client determine the value of his or her claim ... and then take the correct legal steps to recover that value.

Most importantly, be sure that your claim is fairly and fully evaluated, because in most cases once the settlement is made, you will sign certain documents relinquishing your right to any further recovery on your claim.