If you have been the victim of an injury caused by an accident which was no fault of your own, personal accident lawyers will be able to help you to build a case to prove responsibility. If you win the case then you will either see an out of court settlement or you will be granted compensation by a judge, these are called punitive damages.
Whilst financial gain shouldn’t be the reason for you bringing a case forward, this is the best outcome for your case beyond proving who was responsible for your injury. Each case is different of course and compensation will be based on a range of factors which are to be considered. Here is what will decide how much your payout is worth.
Location of the Injury
The first area of consideration when deciding compensation will be the area of the injury. Whereas an injured hand may not be classed as the most ‘valuable’ other areas like the brain are. Here in Buffalo NY traumatic brain injury lawyers will seek the maximum amount of compensation because of the area of this injury, which is deemed more serious than the torso for example.
Severity of the Injury
As a rule of thumb, the location of the injury will be taken into consideration first, but this may be trumped by the severity of the injury which the victim has. For example, a brain injury may see a larger payout than an injury to the legs, at least in the main.
With this being said however if the victim has lost the use of their legs, compared with someone who has a short-term brain injury, the former case will be rewarded a far larger payout.
The matrix which is taken into account by the judge and those lawyers seeking compensation will factor in both the injury location and how extreme it may be.
Emotional Turmoil
The awarding of compensation is not as black and white as simply suggesting where and what the injury is, there is also a great deal of consideration given to additional factors which have come about as a result of the accident. For example, it can be very difficult to quantify the level of trauma which the victim has gone through, which can lead to further complications around emotional turmoil.
For example, we often see victims scared to leave the house after an accident, and some can even slip into depression in the weeks and months following the incident taking place. This is something which has got to be factored in by a judge and they will often increase payout amounts based on the severity of the emotional damage which has been caused.
A personal injury legal team will count on the testimony of medical experts who have treated the case, as well as psychologists who will be able to speak on the mental state of the victim. The opinions of experts is what will largely drive the judge towards making a decision on the amount of compensation offered.
