Often, claimants for personal injuries that occurred through no fault of their own have to live with the effects of serious injuries for the rest of their lives.
It doesn’t matter how generous a personal injury compensation payment it may never fully repair the damage done to the victim. When a claim is valued much will be dependent on the incapacity caused to the victim as a result of the injury.
So if someone is an artist or a writer and permanent loss of the use of both hands will have an enormous impact on the victim. This inability to earn an income may be factored into a personal injury claim.
As there are no hard and fast rules it’s advisable to discuss your case with a personal injury attorney first who will help calculate a fair compensation package for you.
How is a Personal Injury Claim Calculated?
Most important is the effects of an injury such as the amount of pain and suffering that needs to be endured leading to both loss of ability to enjoy life and loss of earnings and its consequences.
Some examples of injuries are:
- the impact of a broken leg may not be the same for two individuals depending on their jobs;
- paraplegia will have a far more effect on a 21 year old than a 71 year old in the long term;
- a back injury has a more serious impact on a sports player who plays for money than someone who leads a more sedentary existence.
How permanent an injury is will affect a personal injury claim, as the more debilitating it is over the long term the more pain and suffering there is and the more severe the loss of ability to work is. Also, medical treatment required may spread into the long term.
The Effect of Loss of Earnings on a Personal Injury Claim
If a personal injury claim includes loss of earnings, a calculation will be made regarding the plaintiff’s ability to return to work and in what capacity.
Also, the period of time up to retirement that may be lost due to the injury and the inability to resume work earning the same amount pre-injury. No specific injury can be the judge of this. Each person is unique when these sort of personal injury calculations are made.
If the victim is unable to work in any type of job again the personal injury compensation claim will be calculated to take this into consideration.
The Role of an Attorney in a Personal Injury Claim
Insurers are rarely sympathetic with personal injury claimants and will go out of the way to avoid paying the full amount. That’s why it’s so important to have a personal injury attorney on your side when filing a personal injury claim for injuries that weren’t your fault.
