The average settlement in a personal injury case depends on factors such as the severity of injuries and the cause of the accident.
There is no simple formula for determining what you will receive in a personal injury case. The best way to understand the worth of your claim is to speak with an experienced Las Vegas personal injury lawyer who can review your case.
The Severity of Your Injuries
One of the most important factors in determining what your personal injury case settlement will be is to consider the severity of your injuries. Those who have severe injuries typically need more advanced treatment and may be unable to work for a longer period of time. This extends the value of your claim. The following are some examples of what you can expect:
- Minor injuries: These are injuries that require one or a few medical appointments and result in little to no missed time at work. Sprains, whiplash, and simple fractures are examples of injuries.
- Mid-range injuries: These are injuries that often leave you with significant injuries requiring moderate treatment, hospitalization, and a few days to weeks off work. Examples may include moderate concussions, complex fractures, and muscle or tissue injuries.
- Severe injuries: These injuries require prolonged hospitalization, surgery, rehabilitation, and extended periods off work. Examples may include traumatic brain injuries, spinal cord injuries, and internal organ damage.
- Catastrophic injuries: Those who suffer these injuries face a lifetime of limitations due to permanent losses in vision, hearing, or nerve damage resulting in paralysis. You are not likely to improve significantly.
- Wrongful death claims: Victims who lose their lives suffer the ultimate loss with no ability to recover. Their family may be able to seek a wrongful death claim that includes all of the decedent’s losses as well as the family’s suffering.
Note that these averages are very loose and cannot be considered any indication of what you will receive in a personal injury case. The value you receive depends on your losses and your ability to prove what those losses are under the law. Remember, the only way to know what your case is worth is to work with a personal injury attorney to provide you with accurate insight.
How Medical Costs Play a Role in the Average Settlement You Receive
One of the components of your personal injury case settlement value is the value of your medical expenses. The more severe your accident injuries are, the more likely it is for you to need medical care. Your claim will include all of the losses you can demonstrate are necessary for medical treatment of your accident injuries.
Some of the most common medical expenses associated with personal injury claims include:
- Emergency medical care
- Hospitalization costs
- Medication
- Treatments and therapies
- Physical therapy costs
- Mental health support
- Assistive devices and support tools
- In-home medical support
- Future medical expenses expected
- Future medical care is needed
- Supportive changes to your home to accommodate your injuries
- Rehabilitation and therapy
Your doctor must determine that these treatments are necessary for your medical or mental health needs, and you must have documentation that shows the value of the losses you have incurred. In every situation, victims must consider their current and future medical losses and accurately calculate them.
Loss of Wages in Personal Injury Settlement
Many people who suffer serious injuries in a personal injury case will be unable to work for a period of time while they receive care and heal, or while they attend required appointments. You have the right to hold the party that caused your injuries accountable for your lost earnings during this period, including losses such as:
- Wages for hours missed at work
- Benefits you did not receive due to being out of work
- Losses of paid time off or other benefits
- Bonuses you would have received
- Overtime payments based on what you likely would have earned
To prove your losses in these situations, you will need to provide documentation of what you were earning prior to the accident or injury. Paycheck stubs and earnings reports will help you with this process. If you are self-employed, your attorney can help you determine what your losses are based on previous earnings in the weeks leading up to the accident. Learn more about our attorneys today.
Loss of Earning Capacity
In some situations, a person is unable to return to work due to severe injuries. You can seek financial compensation for your loss of earning capacity if you can demonstrate that these losses are accurate and verified. There are two possible situations that may occur in these cases.
You may be unable to continue working at your current job or for the current number of hours you were working. You are working, but earning less as a result. You can include the difference between what you were earning and what you are earning now as a loss of earning capacity. You may be able to claim compensation for any job retraining that you may need to continue to work.
In other situations, you may be unable to go back to work at all due to a permanent injury. If you cannot go back to work due to disability, you can file a claim for those losses. You must have medical documentation to confirm this.
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Pain and Suffering Damages in a Personal Injury Case
Another factor that contributes to the value of your personal injury settlement claim is the amount of suffering and pain you endured during the accident and throughout the recovery period. Some people suffer for years with chronic pain as a result of their injuries. The law allows you to recover damages for those losses.
Pain and suffering is a type of non-economic damage claim, meaning it is more subjective in nature and valuation. Insurers and attorneys sometimes use multiplier or per diem approaches as valuation tools.
Calculating pain and suffering can be confusing, but your attorney will talk to you about all of the ways in which this accident is impacting your life, including changes in quality of life, emotional complexities, and the loss of consortium. You deserve to receive compensation for any losses you can demonstrate through evidence.
How Fault Plays a Role in the Average Settlement You Receive
Proving fault is a big part of seeking a personal injury claim, and doing so can be a critical process with numerous steps for your attorney to take. In every case, your attorney will work to show that the other party is at fault for the total losses. However, in some cases, you may be partially at fault, and that will impact the value of your claim.
Nevada follows a modified comparative negligence rule (NRS Chapter 41), which means that you can recover damages even if you are found to be partially at fault. However, if you are more than 50% at fault, you cannot seek damages at all. This 50% bar rule can be critical to seeking fair compensation.
For any percentage of fault you have, the court reduces your compensation by the same amount. For example, if the court finds that you are 25% to blame for the accident, meaning your actions contributed to the accident in some way, your compensation recovery is reduced by 25% of your total losses. This can carry a significant financial weight, and, therefore, it is essential that your attorney work to reduce that level of fault. Use our personal injury settlement calculator to estimate the value of your case.
How Insurance Limitations Impact Your Settlement in a Personal Injury Claim
Someone caused you injuries, and you suffered financial loss. You expect to file a claim with the at-fault party’s insurer and receive payment. However, insurance limitations can be an important factor. Most insurance policies have a maximum level of compensation they will pay out.
If your losses exceed the maximum coverage under the insurance policy, the insurance company will not pay for those losses. However, you can seek additional actions to recover those additional losses. Your personal injury attorney will help you determine which options are available based on your specific situation.
In some situations, you may be able to file a lawsuit against the at-fault party to seek personal assets or excess insurance coverage. Sometimes it is possible to seek a claim against the insurance company itself if you can prove they acted in bad faith throughout the process. These are complex cases, but they are your rights.
How Third Parties May Be Held Accountable for Your Losses
In some personal injury cases, there are third parties that may carry some of the fault associated with your losses. For example, if you are in an accident with a truck driver who was on the job, you may be able to file a claim against the trucking company that employs that driver for its role in the accident.
Third-party claims like this increase the range of liability limits available to you. For example, if the at-fault driver in an accident only has $100,000 worth of coverage, and you have $150,000 worth of losses, you can seek that additional $50,000 against a third party that caused the incident.
Keep in mind that it is up to you or your personal injury attorney to prove who is also accountable for your losses and to build evidence to show that information. It is critical that you seek a comprehensive investigation that identifies all third parties who could play a role in recovering your losses.
Punitive Damages in a Personal Injury Case
Punitive damages are another level of potential compensation received in a personal injury case. Unlike all of the other damages you seek, punitive damages are not compensatory. That means they are not meant to pay you back for what you lost, but instead as a form of punishment against the party at fault.
Punitive damages are less common and typically require heightened proof. They only apply in situations where the defendant acted in an egregious manner, which is what led to your injuries and losses. Examples of this include the defendant acting in an oppressive, fraudulent, or malicious manner.
There must be clear and convincing evidence that they acted in this manner. An example might include a driver under the influence of alcohol who causes severe impairment to another person. In Nevada, punitive damages (NRS 42.005) have a cap, or a high limit that they cannot exceed.
In cases where you have less than $100,000 in compensatory damages (or all other damages you received), the punitive damage cap is $300,000. In cases where you have more than $100,000 in compensatory damages, the cap is three times the amount of those damages. A Las Vegas car accident lawyer is here to help with your case.
How an Attorney Impacts the Settlement Value in Your Personal Injury Case
While all of these factors contribute to what your claim may be, one of the most important elements of this process is knowledge of the law. Many people settle for far less than they should because they do not know that they can claim those losses. The insurance company is under no obligation to tell you what your losses are.
At Shook & Stone Injury Lawyers, our personal injury attorney fights for maximum compensation in your case. We gather all available evidence and build a claim that incorporates every available strategy. Set up a free consultation with our legal team now to get a better idea of what your likely personal injury settlement is in a personal injury case.
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