Accidents leave people changed in every way. First it affects their physical condition, serious injuries break bones and tear muscles; conditions that prevent people from doing their jobs and doing everyday things. Second, it affects them mentally, already being affected physically is damaging enough, but a change in one’s whole life cause inflict depression upon one’s self in the knowing that one’s life won’t be returning to normal for the foreseeable future and that a person will have to give up many of the things that brings them joy. More severe injuries can also affect the brain, thus altering their mental processing permanently.
Lastly, an accident can change a person’s life financially. Being affected in either of the first two ways more often than not leads to an adverse change in one’s job and subsequently their employment. Being unable to perform their jobs at the level of efficiency that they were originally able to do. They’ll usually find their source of income impacted negative by either a reduction or being relieved of their income altogether.
It’s when one loses some or all of their income that people become that much more desperate to make sure that their settlement or award amount is one that is sizable enough to cover both their medical expenses as well as their income lost. This in mind, it’s important to know what are the major influences that will make a difference in the money you receive as a result of your personal injury case:
Insurance policy: Depending on the type of accident, you’ll hopefully have the applicable insurance to help in getting your compensation; you or the opposing party. With every insurance policy there are limits and insurance companies will never offer a settlement that goes over policy limits even if your case is worth more, but with a few exceptions.
Scope of injury: As a rule of thumb, the greater the injury, the greater the payout especially considering the medical bills that’ll stack up trying to treat it. Insurance adjusters take this in consideration when making their offers.
Lawyer: Sometimes it’s really just the skills and abilities of the personal injury attorney, like from ELP Lawyers involved that can turn the tide of negotiations in your favor. It’s the lawyer’s job to negotiate with the opposing party and insurance adjuster who is invested in making sure you get as little as possible from the case. With evidence, documents, and statements the attorney creates a solid argument for you to get a settlement you deserve. But some lawyers really are just better than others.