Bremerton Injury Attorney discuses personal injury case value
What is my car accident case worth?
I get this question a lot. Essentially, insurance companies value cases based on a narrow set of factors. The important thing to note here is something I frequently discuss with clients. THE INSURANCE COMPANY ISN’T THE ONE WHO ULTIMATELY DECIDES VALUE. You have a choice, if you don’t reach an agreement on a value and settle the case, you can always have a trier of fact (judge, jury, arbitrator) decide the value of a case. Insurance companies DO NOT look at all aspects of your case to properly determine the value and will not advise you of your rights or options.
With that said, below is a list of factors insurance companies look at to calculate “their value”:
- Diagnosis (what types of injuries were you diagnosed with
- Cost of treatment
- Intrusiveness of treatment
- Massage, chiropractic, and physical therapy are common types of treatment when dealing with strain and sprain injuries.However, if surgery or other invasive procedures are necessary, that treatment should affect the value significantly.
- Duration of treatment
- How long did it take you to get better
- Did you get 100% better, what did the doctors say about a permanent injury
- Wage loss
- Pre-existing injuries/conditions
- Insurance companies love to dig into pre-existing conditions or prior injuries to under value your case.
Overall, these are the factors insurance companies look at to determine how much your personal injury case is worth. Again, it is not up to the insurance company to ultimately decide how much your case is worth-you have a choice and have the right to have a trier of fact hear more evidence than the above listed factors and decide the value of your case.
If you would like to discuss your personal injury case value in more detail, please feel free to contact Altman Law Offices for a free personal injury consultation at (360) 377-7100 or (253) 761-1000 or email us at info@waaccidentlaw.com.
