Settlement Value of a Brain Injury Claim

Our TBI Lawyer Los Angeles Will Win the Maximum Settlement For You

Head injuries range in severity from the minor to the severe, and because of that, the settlement value will vary based on the individual case. You will find cases worth anywhere from $100,000 up to $26 million. It depends on the extremeness of the circumstances. No matter what the circumstances, you should call a moderate brain injury attorney in Los Angeles to defend your rights. You need someone well-versed in law to ensure that the other party doesn’t run legal circles around you. Never represent yourself in these cases because you don’t have as thorough of a legal understanding as what an expert of law will have.

What Happens with Head Injuries

As a trusted attorney, we have seen many of these cases during our time. In some situations, you can perceive it easily such as a bump or an open wound, but you have cases where you don’t see anything visible. When someone experiences a head injury, the symptoms might include:

• Cognitive impairment
• Memory loss
• Behavioral changes
• Emotional changes

Any one of these things can have a negative impact on your quality of life. In many cases, you may want to go with a settlement because litigation can cost both parties thousands of dollars, and it can take years for it to finish. Because of how the injury ranges anywhere from severe to mild the value for a claim will depend on a number of factors.

Factors Involved in a Claim

First, we should highlight how you have two types of factors. You have special damages, and you have general damages. Special damages will usually relate to your finances, while general damages will look at the things where money can’t make up for the damage done.

Special Damages

• Property damage
• Lost wages
• Lost ability to earn
• Medical costs
• Funeral expenses

General Damages

• Emotional distress
• Embarrassment and humiliation
• Loss of reputation
• Loss of companionship and society
• Shock and mental anguish
• Physical pain and suffering
• Loss of consortium

How much you can claim will depend on the amount of damages that were done to you. In most cases, you will have a reasonable claim if you have multiple losses like the ones outlined above. In particular, if the car accident happened because of reckless driving or drunk driving, the courts will usually go even harder on the defendant.

How Do the Courts Estimate the Cost

First, the court system will take the special damages into account. For example, they will look at the damage done to your finances. An attorney that is well-versed in traumatic brain injury cases can also look at these costs to present the evidence. After a car accident, your lawyer will most likely recommend that you see a doctor immediately. The reason is for documentation and evidence that reinforces your case. If you wait too long, the other party will try to pass the claim for the accident off onto something else. That is why you should get this taken care of as soon as possible. For anyone who even suspects that they might have suffered an injury, they should get in to see a doctor.

Next, the accident injury attorney in Los Angeles will look at the general damages. Usually, they calculate this 1.5 to 5 times the special damages. Nevertheless, they also have to look at the circumstances surrounding it. You may also want to keep a diary of your issues, and keep receipts and documentation of anything related to it. Once you have calculated the special damages and the general damages, you will add both of them together for the total. In most cases, the law firm will do this for you. Either that or they have worked on so many cases that they will have an intuitive understanding of what your case is worth.

The Difference between a Settlement and an Award

When you receive a settlement, it means that the two parties reached an agreement on the case. They didn’t have to take it to court. On the other hand, when you receive an award, it means that they took your case to trial, and the award is what you get at the end of the case. Your attorney will look for similar cases to see what the person received. In this way, they can give you an estimate as to what your case is worth.

Other Influential Factors

You have other influential factors that can have an impact on the value of your case, such as:

• Liability
• Mitigating damages
• Poor conduct by the defendant
• Where they try the case
• Multiple tortfeasors
• Characteristics of the plaintiff

In a brain injury claim, factors don’t exist in a vacuum. Many things get considered. That is one of the reasons that you should be thorough when we ask you questions about your case because it can help us to present your case with the best evidence.

Legal counsel can help you with your case. In all cases, we implore you never to sign anything from the other insurance company and never give a statement without us present. That’s because of how the other party can use your statement-something that you may have said in innocence-against you. We don’t want to see that happen because it can hurt your case. We will fight for you and defend your rights.