A common question that we receive from existing and potential clients is what qualities make a strong personal injury claim. To begin with, the experienced personal injury lawyers with Staver Accident Injury Lawyers, P.C. want to emphasize that no personal injury claim is better than any other. Every client’s case is unique and we will always fight hard for every single one of our clients to recover maximum compensation for them, no matter what the circumstances or extent of their personal injuries. In that vein, every claim is also different; however, there are some common elements that can make the value of one personal injury claim higher versus another personal injury claim. These values can depend on a number of factors, including the nature and permanency of someone’s injuries, the amount of medical treatment required and the medical bills associated with that treatment, as well as whether the person incurred other types of financial losses in the course of whatever situation caused their injuries. The evidence available in support of a client’s claim can also be another factor that determines the strength of a personal injury claim.
Taking a car accident as an example, one of the factors that would make one personal injury claim potentially more valuable than another would be the financial losses sustained. For instance, someone who suffered multiple broken bones or spinal cord damage in an accident would likely require more medical treatment than someone who experienced whiplash but no other physical symptoms. The first accident victim’s medical bills would consequently be much greater, which would mean that the value of their claim could be larger than that of the second individual. In addition, other financial losses such as any car repair bills which may have been necessitated by the accident as well as any lost income the injured person may have suffered would also be factors that would determine the value of an individual’s personal injury claim. If the second accident victim’s car was totaled while the first accident victim’s car only suffered a scratch, then the value of those financial losses would favor the second accident victim’s personal injury claim.
An often over-looked and misunderstood aspect of personal injury claims are non-economic damages. Non-economic damages are compensation for the pain and suffering which accompany a personal injury claim. The nature and permanency of the injuries suffered by someone in the accident scenario above would be one factor that goes into determining the non-economic damages to which a particular client likely would recover if a particular case went to trial. The level of permanent impairment suffered by someone who suffered a spinal cord injury likely would be greater than someone who suffered whiplash, which could make the hypothetical non-economic damages claim of the first driver above greater than the second driver.
An additional factor that goes into determining the value of any claim is the availability of the evidence, relating to the injuries and whatever caused the injury. For instance, if the first accident victim described above who had suffered the spinal cord injury had treatment notes which specifically attributed his or her injury to the accident, this would strengthen his or her injury claim. Conversely, if the first victim’s medical records made mention of the fact that the victim had pre-existing spinal cord issues, that would lessen the value of that individual’s claim. If there is a police report that lays the blame for an accident in which one of our clients is injured squarely at the feet of another driver, then this would be strong evidence that likely would increase the value of our client’s personal injury claim because the police, a neutral third party, had laid the blame squarely at the foot of the other driver rather than our client.
If you have suffered injuries in an accident in the Chicago area or somewhere else in Illinois, you should contact the experienced and aggressive personal injury attorneys of Staver Accident Injury Lawyers, P.C.. We have extensive experience representing people who have suffered personal injuries in a wide range of different scenarios, from car accidents to slip and falls to medical malpractice or dog bites.
If you live in Illinois and have been injured in a Chicago car accident, contact the experienced and aggressive attorneys of Staver Accident Injury Lawyers, P.C. at (312) 236-2900.
When you’re fighting for maximum compensation, we know what it takes to get it.
