Factors Affecting Compensation In a Missouri Personal Injury Claim

When another person’s carelessness, recklessness, or intentional wrongdoing causes you a serious injury, you have a right to make a claim against their insurance company for compensation. For instance, against a careless driver’s auto insurance policy, or a negligent store owner’s commercial property liability insurance. Injury victims may take their case before a jury in a lawsuit for compensation if the insurance company fails to offer a reasonable settlement or wrongfully denies the claim. Regardless of how you and your attorney secure your compensation, in the long run, several key factors affect the amount available to you in your personal injury claim.

How Much Medical Treatment Do You Need for Your Injury?

One of the most important elements of a personal injury claim is the total amount of your medical expenses. A St. Louis injury attorney carefully reviews your medical bills and receipts for related expenses like travel expenses to appointments and specialists, and out-of-pocket costs. Then they consult with medical experts about the anticipated cost of your future medical expenses related to the injury. For instance, will you require rehabilitation or home healthcare during your recovery?

Medical expenses are an important factor in determining compensation for economic damages after an injury.

How Much Work Will You Miss?

Lost wages are another key component of calculating your economic damages in a personal injury claim. How much time away from work have you missed and how much more will you have to take while you recover? Do you have additional surgery or treatment planned that will cause you to miss more work in the future?

Lost wages and future income loss make up a significant portion of the compensation in many personal injury claims. An attorney typically requires proof of missed work days, such as a statement by your employer, and tax documents or pay stubs showing your normal pay to present to the insurance company in a personal injury claim.

Will Your Injury Cause Temporary or Permanent Disability?

Depending on the severity of your injuries, your settlement or court award for damages could include an amount for temporary or permanent disability. When an injury causes temporary immobility or other physical or cognitive impacts that make it difficult to go to work in your previous capacity, or at all, and make it challenging to accomplish routine daily tasks, you may be entitled to compensation not only for income loss but also for expenses such as hiring help with the home, children, or yard work.

If the injury has caused permanent disability, the amount of compensation available for diminished future earning capacity and additional expenses is far greater.

How Much Pain Is Associated With Your Injury?

Most personal injury claims include compensation for non-economic damages as well as economic ones, particularly compensation for your pain and suffering. Although a monetary amount cannot erase these intangible damages, they substantially increase the amount of compensation and provide injury victims with a sense of justice and accountability.

Are There Other Non-Economic Damages in Your Case?

In some cases, additional non-economic damages might apply in your unique case. Depending on the unique circumstances, you could recover compensation for emotional trauma, PTSD, loss of enjoyment of life, diminished quality of life, or compensation for limb loss, disfigurement, or the loss of one of your senses like vision or hearing.

Did You Contribute to the Injury?

In fault-based insurance states, insurance companies commonly reduce the amount of compensation they pay out to an injury victim by assigning them a portion of fault for their injury. For example, if you were wearing sandals when you slipped and fell in a wet store entryway, they could say you were 25% at fault for choosing inadequate footwear on a rainy day. Unless your attorney works to disprove this percentage of fault, it could reduce a $100,000 claim to $75,000.

Call The Floyd Law Firm for Representation in Your Personal Injury Case

Insurance companies are not on your side, even if they sound compassionate when they speak to you on the phone. Their primary goal is to protect their profits at your expense. A skilled personal injury attorney carefully calculates your damages and defends your best interests to maximize the compensation you recover in your personal injury claim. Contact The Floyd Law Firm for a free consultation today.