There are times, even after your best efforts of settling a personal injury accident insurance claim or a case yourself, that you may need the services of a personal injury lawyer at some point. You may need this if there are complications in your claim, due to the seriousness of your injuries, or if an insurance company is refusing to make you an offer that seems reasonable.
The personal injury lawyer you choose can make all the difference in determining the success of your case and the chances of you receiving a settlement value that might be due to you. However, it is important to understand how a personal injury lawyer evaluates your case. A personal injury lawyer evaluates both the financial and legal aspects of any personal injury lawsuit. There is a chance that a lawsuit might not need to be litigated in a court of law. But when a personal injury claim in made, you must be prepared to take your case to a trial if a fair settlement is not made. Here are some key elements that a personal injury lawyer looks for to establish a case.
Liability
One of the very first things that a personal injury lawyer will want to establish is the underlying accident or injury or who is liable for the cause. There are some cases wherein another person will be liable for the accident, such as the driver of the car that might have caused the accident. The party who is liable might be the owner of a property, in other cases, whose slippery floor might have been hazardous and caused in injury, or even a manufacturer whose faulty product caused a consumer to be harmed.
Losses that Stem from the Injury
Another important legal issue is defining and quantifying any actual losses that might have occurred from the injury. The time and effort involved to pursue a personal injury case must be warranted by significant losses. It might not be worth the trouble to pursue a claim if the injured person has suffered an injury that will heal within a week or two, and might not have too much of an impact on their life. Serious injuries sustained on the other hand, which have a significant impact on an injured person’s day-to-day life or earning capacity, might be worth the effort and energy to pursue a case. The main factor that establishes the value of a personal injury case is the extent of the victim’s injuries.
Financial Factors
Since money is most often the means why which an injured person is ‘made whole’, it is a critical factor in how an attorney evaluates a personal injury case. From an attorney’s perspective, the most successful cases are those wherein the defendant carries insurance that will apply to the claimant’s injuries. When there is not any insurance policy for an injured person to fall back on, that is when it becomes riskier.