Top 5 Things That Affect Case Value
1. How great are your losses?
The money you get in a personal injury case is, for the most part, meant to make up for your harms and losses. The more hurt you are and the greater your losses, the more money you get. If you’re not that hurt and you don’t have much loss, you get less money.
2. How egregious is the liability?
Jurors are motivated to give money in a personal injury case if they are angry at what the negligent party did. So, if wrong that was committed was egregious, generally the value of the case goes up. But if the wrong was just a simple mistake, then the value usually goes down.
3. Can the wrong-doer pay?
Your losses may be in the millions, but if the wrong-doer only has $25,000.00 in insurance coverage and no personal assets, then your recovery is limited to $25,000.00. If the wrong-doer has a large insurance policy or a significant amount of liquid assets, then you will probably be able to recover the full value of your case.
4. Where will you have to file suit?
Generally speaking, you have to file suit in the county where you got hurt. This means that the people who ultimately decide the value of your case – the jury – have a great influence on case value. If they juries in that county are typically unfriendly towards personal injury victims, then your case value goes down. If they are receptive to personal injury victims, then your case value goes up.
5. Are you likeable?
The attitudes and motivations of the personal injury victim impact case value tremendously. If you are sitting around feeling sorry for yourself, not doing anything outside of your case to better your life, and have a sense of self-entitlement, then your case value will go down. If you are motivated to improve your lot in life despite your injuries and are generally likeable, then your case value will increase.