Personal injury claims are among some of the most common claims filed. From car accidents to medical malpractice, there are many injuries that fall under the term personal injury. If you look up personal injury in the Dictionary, it is defined asv- physical injury inflicted to a person’s body, as opposed to damage to property or reputation. This covers torts and wrongful death claims as well.
But how do you put together a case for a personal injury? How much time do these cases typically take? And what are the expected payouts for these cases? These three questions will be covered in this article.
How to Build a Case for a Personal Injury Claim
The information needed to file a personal claim varies, but is typically the same for each case. So, for example, if you’re filing a personal injury claim because of an auto accident, you will need these things:
- Your personal statement
- Police report
- Photographs and/or video from the accident scene
- Witness testimonies
- Medical bills & records
In the case of an automobile accident, your attorney will try to secure the vehicle’s black box, which will provide them with secure vehicle data from just before the accident. This information will let them know what the condition of the vehicle was at the time of the accident. In many cases, it will let them know the condition of the roads as well. And if there is video surveillance of the accident, your attorney may also try to get it before it is deleted.
Having all this information and anything else your attorney asks you to provide will help build your case. The stronger your claim, the better chance you have of winning your case and getting the compensation you deserve.
How Long Will it Take to Reach a Settlement?
95% of personal injury claims are settled out of court, meaning only 5% go to court. The reason a personal injury case would go to court is if you and the responsible party can’t agree on the amount you should be compensated. But as you can see from the statistics, that doesn’t happen very often.
Television makes it seem like settlements happen quickly, but that is an inaccurate portrayal of real life settlements. In real life, settlements take several months to several years to reach their conclusion. The reason for this is that both sides must participate in the investigation to help calculate the amount of money owed to the injured party. So depending on how long the discovery process goes depends on how long it will take for the settlement to be reached.
What is the Average Payout for a Personal Injury Settlement?
This will vary from case to case, but it’s difficult to give an average number. The reason for this is that most personal injury cases are kept confidential, meaning we won’t know how much someone was compensated unless they tell us or it’s a case we see on television. But according to a revenue report from 2013, the average personal injury settlement payout was around $24,000.
That may be reported as the average, but personal injury settlement amounts are dependent on these factors:
- The extent of your injuries (Both physical and psychological)
- How much the insurance company is willing to payout
- How long you are unable to work
- Medical bills
So you may receive more or less money depending on the above factors.
If you have been the victim of an accident that has left you with a personal injury, contact The Law Offices of Scott J. Senft. With over thirty years of experience, he can offer you legal advice about personal injury law.