How Do I Calculate the Value of My Personal Injury Case?

What Is My Case Worth?

Here are the main factors that determine your compensation in a personal injury case:

Liability

Liability is not always easy to determine. In many cases, both parties can be liable to different degrees. For example, if a judge determines you were 40% at fault due to your actions, you may only be entitled to 60% of your potential settlement value.

Insurance

Insurance plays a significant role in the value of a personal injury case. Often, the opposing party’s insurance coverage limits are the sole source of recovery for victims.

If you are involved in a car accident and the other person does not have insurance, your only source of recovery would be your own uninsured motorist policy. These policies are optional, and can be added to your existing plan if you don’t already have it included.

New Mexico state law requires drivers to carry a minimum amount of $25,000 in liability insurance. However, there is still a risk that the person at fault is uninsured.

For workplace injuries, almost all employers in New Mexico are required to offer workers compensation, with few exceptions. Workers compensation is a form of insurance that provides income replacement and medical benefits to employees who are hurt during work. Workers who are given this policy relinquish their right to for their employer for negligence.

Medical Expenses

A large portion of settlement value will be for medical bills, including from emergency room and primary care visits, physical therapy, or surgery, as well as from other specialists you may have visited to treat your injuries.

In addition to having a direct impact on your settlement value, medical treatment will also factor into your non-economic damage value, which we will explain in more detail below. Because of this, you must make sure to adhere to all doctor instruction and to not skip appointments. If the opposing insurance company discovers that you’ve skipped doctor and physical therapy appointments, the company can use that as evidence to discredit the full amount of damages you are claiming.

For example, a man gets in a car accident, suffers a back injury, and is told to go through six months of physical therapy for back pain. If he visits the physical therapist for three weeks, and then decides that it isn’t worth the time and stops going, it will be clear that his injuries are not severe enough to warrant consistent treatment, and that he is exaggerating his pain and suffering.

Lost earnings

Any income lost from missing time at work factors into a settlement amount for a personal injury case. If you took paid-time off during your recovery, that amount should still be counted toward unpaid time.

Future Lost Income

In addition to time you’ve already missed from work, make sure to estimate how many hours you’ll miss in the future due to your injuries or treatment.

Estimated Future Medical Expenses

Similar to future lost income, make sure to include how much you expect to be billed over the course of your ongoing treatment and recovery.

Non-economic Damages

This final term includes damages that cannot be directly attributed to specific bills or lost income. This is often referred to as “pain and suffering,” and has to do with things like an inability to spend time with family, prepare food, or partake in hobbies and interests.

This can result in varying damage amounts based on how the injury and incident has affected your mental and emotional well-being. Writing a demand for non-economic damages is an art form all its own, and requires exceptionally skilled attorneys to do it well.

Our Las Cruces Personal Injury Accident Lawyers Can Help

At Zinda Law Group, our Las Cruces injury attorneys have the experience and knowledge necessary to help you. We have helped thousands of injury victims seek compensation for medical bills, loss of income, property damage, pain and suffering, and more.

If you or someone you know has been injured in an accident, our experienced personal injury attorneys would be happy to help you assess the potential damages of your case.

Call Zinda Law Group at (800) 863-5312 for a free consultation with a skilled Las Cruces personal injury lawyer.

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