SelectCounsel Law Firm | Personal Injury, Medical Malpractice, Defective Products

How You Determine The Value of Your Personal Injury Case

Pain and suffering can include soft tissue injuries, broken bones, internal head injuries, scarring, depression, post-traumatic stress disorder and temporary or permanent disabilities. This list is by no means exhaustive. There are numerous other physical and emotional traumas possible that fall under the heading of pain and suffering which could include a claim for loss of consortium for a spouse or emotional bystander distress.

There are no set figures or charts for how much restitution is determined for pain and suffering. Juries, judges, mediators and arbitrators base decisions on many factors. Some of these elements include but are not limited to:

· Age: An older person is more likely to receive a higher award for pain and suffering than a younger person. Young people are considered to have faster healing capabilities than older people.

· Type of Injury: The nature of the injury, including any permanent disability that results, is pivotal to the amount of restitution. As is obvious, a Plaintiff with a broken wrist will not receive as much compensation as a Plaintiff with a traumatic brain injury. This does not mean, however, that two Plaintiffs with identical injuries will receive the same amount. One Plaintiff may suffer more because of, for instance, a low pain threshold, and receive more money than the second Plaintiff.

· Credibility of the Plaintiff: The honesty of the Plaintiff and his or her actions following the injury are scrutinized. A Plaintiff who demonstrates he or she acted in a manner) as might be reasonably expected of a person with a specific injury will be likely be believed by a judge or jury about the extent of injury and its effect on the Plaintiff's lifestyle.

· Impact on lifestyle: The injured person's lifestyle previous to the injury is relevant. For example, a person who is employed full-time, a spouse, a parent and involved in recreational sports is likely impacted more than a single person with a sedentary lifestyle.

· Location where lawsuit is filed: Studies show that Plaintiffs in lawsuits filed in urban areas will receive higher restitution than Plaintiffs of lawsuits commended in suburban and rural areas.

· Attorney: An experienced personal injury attorney will present a well documented case, have strong negotiation abilities and lay out a persuasive argument, complete with reputable research, in favor of the Plaintiff. These are essential elements in a successful personal injury lawsuit.

Exceptions to this standard are claims for pain and suffering presented to an insurer. The adjuster responsible for the case will often follow guidelines with varying levels of compensation that have been established by the insurer. The adjuster will assess the severity of a particular injury and apply guideline specifications.

Every injury sustained is individual. As the above factors show, injuries and people are not identical and, for this reason, an experienced personal injury attorney should be consulted for a legal opinion regarding compensation for pain and suffering due to a personal injury.

Birth Injuries and How They Occur

Birth injuries can be caused by doctor malpractice or hospital malpractice in a number of different ways which could include:

* Excessive force used in the delivery of the baby including the use of forceps;
* A delay in the performance of a necessary C-section;
* Failing to recognize on a timely basis that the baby is in distress;
* Depriving the baby of oxygen during the delivery;
* Failure to order specific tests during pregnancy and/or not properly interpreting tests; or
* Lack of oxygen to the brain or trauma to the head during labor and delivery.

Because the types and degrees of birthing problems are so varied, the complications associated with these injuries can be quite different. The problems associated with birth mistakes could include:
* Mental and physical developmental problems having lifetime implications;
* Brain damage;
* Respiratory Problems;
* Cerebral Palsy which is a brain disorder that can cause problems affecting a person's ability to control muscles, walk, use one's arms and legs and may result in seizures and decreased mental abilities; or
* Erb's Palsy which is an injury resulting in the compression of a person's brachial plexus nerves that control various arm functions. Often times a person who has Erb's palsy can develop arm length retardation as they grow.

If you suspect that your child has suffered an injury as a result of hospital, doctor or medical malpractice, it is extremely important that you contact an experienced malpractice attorney who has expertise in the handling and presentation of birth cases.
An attorney should be contacted immediately if one suspects that the birth injuries were caused by medical negligence.

You will also need the opinions of medical experts to help develop your case. Your attorney will be able to suggest a team of experts that can range from private investigators to doctors to economists to help develop your case. In most cases, the law firm or attorneys will advance all costs and expenses of the case as they are incurred. Once the case is concluded, they would be reimbursed for their costs out of the recovery. In some states, even if there is no recovery, the client is still responsible for the costs and expenses of the case even though the client owes no legal fees. In other states, if there is no recovery, the client will owe nothing for the costs and expenses, which will be absorbed by the law firm or attorney.
SelectCounsel, LLC can refer you to one of the best law firms in your area and arrange for a free consultation for you to speak with one of those lawyers.

How To Get More Money For Your Loss of Earnings

Unlike an employer-employee situation where the calculation of lost income is much more straightforward, losing self-employed income is much more difficult to calculate in determining your losses for your medical malpractice case. As a self- employed businessperson, you could be entitled to lost income, loss of earning capacity, lost profits, lost business opportunities, and the loss of good will and/or the diminution in value to your company. It is your responsibility to lessen or mitigate your damages, to the extent possible.

Again, it is very important to be as detailed as possible in keeping accurate records. Make sure your doctor understands your physical limitations and how it affects your job so that your doctor can place this information in your medical record to help support your lost income claim. You will be asked to provide tax returns for approximately the last three to five years. Unfortunately for many, this income history does not adequately explain your current situation or what your future may be. You will also want to prepare a year-to-date financial statement that indicates your current financial position. You will need to present as much evidence and proof as possible to establish the losses you are claiming. It is a good idea to make copies of your calendar of appointments and get letters from current or prospective clients or customers to provide a better picture of lost income or loss of future business or opportunities. Another difficulty for a self-employed businessperson is that you are generally doing your job and marketing for future work at the same time. For more complicated cases, it might be prudent for us to hire a forensic accountant or an economist to help clarify your lost income situation. Many times, claims of loss of income by self-employed businesspeople are speculative and difficult to prove. Because you know your business better than anyone else, including your attorney, it is necessary for you to provide the best possible documentation to help prove your claim. Your attorney may want to hire an economist or vocational expert to help determine your losses. Commissioned Salespeople If you are a commissioned salesperson and are out of work due to injuries sustained in an accident, it may be very difficult to prove what income you lost as a result of not being able to work. It would be difficult to prove what new orders you might have received, how many new clients or customers you would have gotten, and how much additional income you would have had. You should make a copy of your day planner to show what accounts you were working on or were scheduled to begin working on. You should get a copy of your year-to-date commissions and make a list of all prospects that you have "in the pipeline." You should get letters from your employer and make a list of your current accounts and any future accounts that you may be working on. You could also get letters from your coworkers or other salespeople who can help verify what you were doing in the way of business.

Your Accountant Perhaps the best type of documentation and/or proof to help establish your loss of income claim would be a detailed letter on your accountant's letterhead that explains in detail your business, any seasonal changes you experience in your income, why your business and income were on the rise, forecasting what your income would have been and explaining in great detail the reasons behind that calculation, and any other information that is relevant to explaining any loss of income or business which you incurred or can expect to incur.
Proving Your Case As the injured party, it is up to you and your attorney to prove your case to either the finder of fact, which can be an adjustor, arbitrator, judge, or jury, by a preponderance of the evidence. In loss of income cases, it is very important to present as much "proof" as possible to support your claim. Many times this can be done with letters from employees, coworkers, family members, and friends who can explain why you are not able to work or cannot earn what you were once making. At other times, paystubs, tax returns, expert reports (economists or accountants), and letters from current or potential customers or clients will help to make your case. You should remember that insurance companies rarely rely on oral representations of facts, so don't think it will be enough for you to just say you could not work. You must have written materials to corroborate your representations. Put yourself in the mind of the insurance adjuster, arbitrator, judge, or a member of the jury. What proof would be necessary to help you decide what would be the greatest amount of money to award for past loss of income, future loss of income, or diminution in one's business? While there is no hard-and-fast rule as to what to present, you should be as comprehensive and creative as possible. You should discuss all aspects of your business with us so that a comprehensive loss of income claim for your personal injury or medical malpractice case can be developed and presented.

Attorney Richard Hastings, for the past two and one half decades, has been helping injured clients and families collect millions of dollars in cases ranging from motor vehicle accidents to wrongful death, to medical malpractice. He is the founder of Selectcounsel, LLC, a free service that helps you find one of the best lawyers in your area and is the author of the books "How To Find A Great Lawyer" and "Understanding And Improving The Value Of Your Personal Injury Case."