Estimating the Value of Your Motor Vehicle Accident
Car accident claims can take months to resolve completely. While you’re waiting for your claim to settle, life goes on, and you need to be able to plan for your future. In order to make practical plans, you may need to know how much you can expect to recover for your motor vehicle claims. While there’s no way to know precisely how much you should expect to recover from a motor vehicle accident, there are factors that insurance companies and courts will use when determining the damages involved in a traffic accident claim which can help you make an educated guess at your recovery. Read on to learn about how claims are valued.
Injuries and their effect on the victim
As you would expect, injuries are worth more in damages when they have a profound effect on the victim’s quality of life or mobility. Victims with injuries which can be treated easily, or from which the victim will fully recover, will not receive as large of an award in damages. An additional consideration for the court or adjuster is the extent to which the injuries have changed the victim’s lifestyle or means of earning a living. For example, injuries to a hand which limit the victim’s ability to perform fine movements might not be worth as much compensation for a victim who worked as a long-haul driver as they would to a victim who worked as a concert pianist.
The available evidence in support of the claim
While you may feel certain about how an accident unfolded, and the other driver’s role in it, if the other driver contests this account and you can’t prove you’re right, you may have difficulty proving your claim for damages. A claim based on an accident that had an objective third party witness, or was captured on surveillance video, will be more valuable than one where the victim was the only witness. An experienced attorney can help you gather the evidence you’ll need to support your claim and right to damages.
The skill of your attorney
When you file a claim with an insurer yourself, rather than hiring an attorney, the insurer knows that they’re far more likely to get you to accept a lower offer for settlement. Personal injury attorneys have years of experience producing accurate valuations of claims, and are better equipped to negotiate authoritatively with insurance carriers.
If you’ve been hurt in a car or truck accident in the San Gabriel Valley, find out whether you should consider taking legal action based on your accident by contacting the knowledgeable and dedicated Claremont personal injury lawyers at Blasser Law for a consultation at 877-927-2181.