How Much Can You Win From a Personal Injury Lawsuit?
If you are pursuing a personal injury lawsuit, or find yourself pursuing one in the future, you will want to know how much you can potentially win in compensation. So, let’s explore the topic.
What exactly is a personal injury lawsuit?
A personal injury lawsuit is a civil case brought against another party who is believed to have caused harm through negligence, recklessness, or intentional misconduct. Essentially, it’s a legal way for the injured person to recover damages from the party responsible for their injury.
For example, if you slip and fall in a grocery store because the management failed to clean up a spill promptly, you could potentially sue for personal injury. The goal would be compensation for medical bills and any other losses suffered as a result of the mishap.
Car accidents are another common ground for these lawsuits. If you’re rear-ended and suffer whiplash, for instance, you might file a lawsuit against the at-fault driver.
From dog bites to medical malpractice, personal injury lawsuits cover a wide range of situations where someone suffers harm due to others’ actions or lack thereof.
In all these scenarios, what is critical is proving that the other party violated their duty of care towards you.
What kind of compensation can claimants receive?
In a personal injury lawsuit, the affected person can obtain various types of compensation. These are either economic or non-economic damages.
Economic Damages
Economic damages refer to quantifiable losses like medical expenses, loss of earnings, and future loss of income due to a disability or long-term injuries. These are generally easier to calculate as they represent actual out-of-pocket costs.
Non-economic Damages
Non-economic damages, on the other hand, compensate for intangible losses. This category includes compensation for pain and suffering, emotional distress, loss of consortium, and diminished quality of life.
Precisely quantifying non-economic damages can be complex as it depends largely on the subjective experiences and interpretations of each individual case.
How much can you win in compensation from a personal injury lawsuit?
The amount you can win from a personal injury lawsuit can vary greatly depending on several factors. Here are some key considerations.
The Nature and Severity of the Injury
The higher the degree of harm or lasting impact, the greater the potential compensation will usually be. Injuries resulting in disability or catastrophic harm often warrant significant financial awards.
This takes medical bills, rehabilitation costs, and permanent loss of earning capacity into account.
Comparative Negligence
In many states across the U.S., there is something known as “comparative negligence.” That means, if both parties share some degree of fault for the incident leading to the injury, it could reduce your compensation.
The specific percentage assigned to you as your share of negligence will directly reduce your total award.
The Neighborhood Effect
This term refers to how juries in certain areas may generally be inclined toward higher or lower awards in personal injury lawsuits. In some areas, you may find you are awarded more or less compensation than in other areas.
Likely Compensation Amounts
As each case is unique, there is not a universal figure that anyone can expect from a personal injury lawsuit.
However, the most common personal injury settlements in the U.S. range from $3,000 to $75,000. But individual circumstances can sometimes yield outcomes far beyond those figures.
In some instances, for example, where grievous harm has occurred and negligence is clear-cut, compensation may run into the millions because of hefty medical expenses or life-altering impairments.
Conversely, in minor cases with less clear liability or lower degrees of harm, settlement sums can be significantly smaller — as low as a few hundred dollars.
Make Sure You Hire an Experienced and Reputable Lawyer
It is important to note that winning a lawsuit is not guaranteed. The success of a case depends on many factors, including proof of negligence or recklessness by the other party and their level of liability for your injuries.
Additionally, litigation costs and attorney’s fees often consume a portion of the monetary awards. For these reasons among others, many personal injury cases are settled outside court with negotiated agreements rather than going through an entire trial process.
This route often provides more predictability for both parties involved and ensures you receive some degree of compensation rather than risking walking away empty-handed from a courtroom verdict.
All those factors underscore why working closely with a qualified attorney is critical when pursuing a personal injury lawsuit.
An experienced and skillful lawyer can best assess the details of your case, guide you through the legal process, and advocate for the highest possible compensation. They will have proven strategies and experiences to help maximize your potential award given the various influencing factors in play.
Of course, it is important that you hire a lawyer for any kind of case, not just personal injury lawsuits.
For instance, you could join large class-action or mass tort litigation cases, in which case you would need to find an attorney who handles such legal cases and is currently representing others for your specific case.
So, make sure you get legal information and legal help if you intend to pursue any kind of case, from personal injury lawsuits to mass tort litigation cases.
Final Thoughts
Remember, you’re not just fighting for compensation. Justice and accountability are also at stake. So, even if the monetary payout is not substantial, holding those at fault accountable will provide closure and contribute positively towards the prevention of future negligence.
