Determining the Value of an Auto Accident Case Starts With These Factors

The most important factor to consider when attempting to estimate the value of a case is that each case is unique.  The unique facts and elements of each case must be analyzed accordingly.  Again, each case is unique and TV attorneys attempts to convince you that a substantial award can be obtained for you because of former client’s success is absurd.

There is an urban legend that a case is worth “three times the special damages.”  In other words, the value of a case is three times the economic losses, so if medical bills are $30,000 the case allegedly should settle for three times that amount.  There could be nothing further from the truth.  If such a hard and fast rule existed most personal injury attorneys would be unemployed.  There are cases where this formula could result in a terrific result and in other cases the client would be grossly under-compensated.

The primary inquiry is to estimate a realistic jury award for the unique set of facts of any given case.  A few salient factors to analyze include the likeability and credibility of your client.  Juries are extremely reluctant to award a substantial verdict for a plaintiff that lacks credibility.

The venue (location of the court) also has to be taken into consideration.  Some venues are liberal while others lean toward the conservative side. The theory is that conservative juries return smaller verdicts while liberals return larger verdicts.  This is just a theory, not a certainty.

The facts of the incident are similarly important.  For example, a pedestrian hit by an intoxicated driver of a semi will probably obtain a larger settlement than a minor garden variety rear end crash.  Also, settlement values increase when there is objective evidence e.g., x-rays, CT scans, or MRI’s to identify the injuries.  Unfortunately, without objective evidence settlements tend to be lower.  A plaintiff may have debilitating headaches or a traumatic brain injury, but the lack of objective evidence could result in an inadequate settlement or verdict.

You need an experienced attorney to analyze each factor of the case for an accurate valuation. If you are involved in a car crash that was not your fault, contact the experienced attorneys at Bell and Pollock.