Many victims of pedestrian accidents want to understand what their potential recovery will be from their claim. Every claim is different and there are a number of tangible and intangible factors that drive the value of a claim. Below is a list of the factors that an insurance company and/or jury will look at when determining the value of your pedestrian accident claim.
- The facts of the accident
- The percentage of fault attributed to each party
- The amount of medical and hospital expenses in the past
- The amount of medical and hospital expenses you are reasonable certain to accumulate in the future
- Past lost earnings
- Loss of the ability to earn money in the future
- Incidental expenses related to the injury
- The nature and extent of your injuries
- Whether your injury is permanent in nature
- Physical and mental pain and suffering, if you have a permanent injury
- Loss of the quality of enjoyment of life, if you have a permanent injury
- Life expectancy of the injured person
Other intangible factors would include how bad the defendant acted. For instance, if he was drunk or reckless a jury may hold it against the defendant. Insurance defense lawyers are able to keep this type of information away from a jury by admitting fault (liability) for the accident but the behavior can definitely be used during negotiations.
Finally, the overall factor in my experience, is the client. If the injured person comes off as a good person who is trying to overcome the tragedy, it goes a longer way to increasing the value of a claim as compared to a client who may come off as somebody who is trying to game the system.
If you have any questions about the value of a Villages pedestrian accident claim, call 352-267-9168.