How Much Is My Car Accident Claim Worth?

One of the questions we are often asked is how much is my car accident claim worth? This is not an easy question to answer on the fly, and depends upon many factors. However, if you have been seriously injured in a car or truck accident in the Kingsport, Johnson City, or Bristol, Tennessee area, then hiring an experienced car accident lawyer is the best course of action. Only a lawyer who focuses their practice on representing car accident victims in the Tri-Cities region will be able to know what cases are worth and will be able to fight to get the most recovery for your injuries. The personal injury lawyers at Robert Bates & Associates will be able to answer all of your questions and develop a plan to fight for fair compensation for your injuries.

What an Experienced Car Accident Lawyer Will Know

There are many things that an experienced car or truck accident lawyer will know as it relates to every case. Trying to represent yourself and attempting to negotiate with the insurance companies is a bad decision. There are many tricks of the trade that a lawyer will have learned over years of experience and handling hundreds of personal injury cases. A good lawyer will know how to exploit each insurance adjuster because the lawyer has dealt with them many times in the past. The lawyer will know what injuries are serious and how much those injuries are generally worth in our geographic region. Every case is different, but if a lawyer has successfully handled hundreds of these cases, he or she will know what to focus on and what not to.

Car Accident Injury Damages

If you were seriously injured in a car or truck accident due to the negligence of another driver, then you are entitled to be compensated for those injuries. Not every case is the same, however. The same type of injury might affect someone differently than another person. But a good personal injury lawyer will know the true value of a case, as it applies to their specific client. Here are the things that an experienced car accident attorney factors into when determining the value of your case:

● What are the extent of your injuries, how badly were you injured, and are those injuries permanent or long lasting in nature? What is the medical prognosis of your condition? Will there be long term or permanent disabilities? Was there the need for significant treatment?

● What is the total amount of medical bills, either past bills that have already been paid or unpaid future medical bills for treatment that will be needed over the years? A case that has a high amount of medical bills, either past or future, is one way to demonstrate that the injuries suffered by the plaintiff are serious.

● Was there any past due lost wages? Will there be any future lost wages due to ongoing disability caused by the car accident injury? What is the total value of the lost wages? Is there a significant loss of earning capacity for the injured person going into the future, and if so, what is the total value of that lost earning capacity?

● What amount of pain and suffering, or non-economic damages, has the person suffered? Pain and suffering is considered non-economic damages, whereas lost wages or earning capacity and unpaid medical bills are considered economic damages. Economic damages are fairly easy to calculate. But pain and suffering is more of an art form to determine because there is no set formula that can be used. Every case is different and how an injury affects one person, that same injury might affect someone else differently. To determine what this amount will be, an experienced personal injury lawyer can gage what is normal for your geographical area as well as the extent of injuries. Being compensated for pain and suffering basically means how much pain you have experienced over the length of the treatment or whether there is any aspect of the injury that is permanent.

● Have there been any significant loss of life’s pleasures? This category of damages relates to losing the ability to do whatever was fun and enjoyable for a person. If the car accident injuries were serious enough that it prevented the person from doing hobbies, for example, then that person should be compensated for that.

But before any of this can be determined, you have to hire an experienced car or truck accident lawyer who can answer all of your questions and fight for your rights to be fairly and fully compensated. The lawyers at Robert Bates & Associates are here to help you and your family through this tough time.

Robert BatesRobert is a Kingsport trial lawyer who handles car, truck and motorcycle wreck cases across the Tri-Cities. Every client gets his cell number.