How much is my claim worth?
By law, as the innocent victim of someone else’s negligence, auto collision lawyers will tell you that you are entitled to receive “fair and adequate compensation” as damages. But fair and adequate can vary dramatically from one case to another. Good, hardworking auto collision lawyers can determine the value of your personal injury claim based upon what they expect a reasonable jury to award as fair and adequate compensation.
There are generally three types of damages: past economic loss, future economic loss, and compensation for the accident itself.
Past economic loss is easy to calculate. What it basically comes down to is auto collision lawyers determining the out-of-pocket expenses for you and your family as a result of your injury.
Future economic loss is a little tougher to calculate and requires the use of expert testimony. Loss of future earning capacity is the difference between what you were capable of earning over your lifetime before the injury and the amount you’re now capable of earning with your permanent physical limitations. The difference between the earnings for those jobs you were capable of doing before the accident and what you’re now capable of doing is called “loss of earning capacity.”
Auto Collision Lawyers Will Tell You That Coming Up with a Figure Is Tough
Determining the amount of compensation you’re entitled to receive for your accident is really tough. Of course you should be fairly paid for permanent physical disability or disfigurement, loss of family, social and educational experiences as well as for past and future emotional damages, such as stress, embarrassment, depression or strains on family relationships.
However, as qualified as auto collision lawyers are, there are no books or guides for juries to use in determining these losses. You really can’t just plug numbers into a computer to calculate your loss. After all, you are a real live human being with feelings. Auto collision lawyers can’t place an exact dollar figure on such losses. But, you have to place a dollar figure on the loss so as not to cheapen the value of these life experiences.
The following video will help you to understand the various factors that auto collision lawyers have to consider when placing a value on your claim. The fact that every claim is different makes it even more difficult to find out how much your claim is worth.
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Additional Resources for Personal Injury or Accidents:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Personal_injury
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Association_of_Personal_Injury_Lawyers
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Personal_injury_lawyer
http://www.justice.org/cps/rde/xchg/justice/hs.xsl/default.htm (American Association for Justice)
http://www.apil.org.uk/ (Association of Personal Injury Lawyers)