How much are you going to receive from your personal injury claim? This isn’t a question with an easy answer. If you’re wondering if you even need to worry about this question, the answer’s a toss-up. An estimated 24,433 traffic crashes in Duval County in 2021.
The statistic indicates there’s a pretty good chance you’re going to be involved in a Florida traffic crash at least once. So, how do you know the value of your car accident claim? Your total losses don’t always represent what you’re actually going to receive from the insurance provider.
Attorney Fee Structures Affect Everyone
All attorneys regardless of their field of practice can charge clients an hourly rate. Lawyers can also collect upfront fees or charge clients based on the type of case. However, personal injury lawyers have another payment option. They can charge clients a contingency fee. Before you start wondering why this isn’t an option for family, business, or even criminal defense attorneys, it’s due to how the fee structure works.
Instead of coming up with attorney fees at the start of your accident claim, you can enter into a contingency fee agreement. This essentially means your attorney is working for free until they successfully settle your personal injury claim. Once your claim is settled, your accident lawyer deduct their fees from your insurance check. Since contingency fees are a percentage of your settlement, usually between 22% and 33%, the amount they make depends on your claim’s value.
So, if your insurance settlement is $100,000 and your contingency fees are 25%, your attorney earns $25,000 and you receive $75,000.
Liability Impacts Accident Claim Values
Several states follow comparative negligence guidelines and Florida is one of them. Sometimes the insurance rule works in your favor, but it can also affect compensation.
How comparative negligence works is fairly simple. The rule allows more than one individual to be responsible for causing the accident. Here’s a quick example. You’re speeding through an intersection and are hit by another driver who ran a red light. In this scenario, both motorists are liable for the accident. You and the other driver are assessed a percentage of fault. When your accident claim is settled, your compensation is reduced by your percentage of blame.
You shouldn’t have a problem filing a personal injury claim even if comparative negligence applies, as long as you’re not assessed more than 50% of the fault for the accident.
Your Insurance Coverage
If you have a registered vehicle and are planning on hitting the road, insurance is a requirement. This isn’t a suggestion, it’s state law. The Sunshine State requires all licensed drivers to carry at least liability and personal injury protection (PIP) coverage.
Liability insurance covers damages you cause to another driver’s property. Your PIP insurance covers up to 80% of medical costs and lost wages or your policy’s cap, whichever threshold you hit first. This means you’re still left with at least 20% of these losses. If you’re only carrying liability insurance, your property damage isn’t covered so you’re stuck with 100% of these expenses.
After filing a claim with your auto and PIP carrier, you can file for compensation against the at-fault driver to try to recover your remaining damages. However, there’s no guarantee you’re going to receive the full amount. Things like comparative negligence can reduce compensation amounts. Your potential settlement may also be reduced during negotiations.
A quick tip is to never accept a low settlement amount even if it means getting an insurance check in a couple of days. After covering contingency fees, you may not have enough left to cover your remaining damages. Once you settle a personal injury claim you can’t refile for additional compensation, even if you still have damages.
The Severity of Your Damages
This should be a pretty obvious factor impacting compensation amounts. Your claim’s value is based solely on your damages. In other words, you can’t just pick a settlement amount out of the air and submit the claim to the insurance company. You must prove each damage regardless of how small or ridiculous it may seem.
Injury severity. Your medical expenses tend to make up a significant portion of your accident claim. After all, healthcare isn’t exactly cheap. Serious injuries typically require extended care and this tends to increase accident claim values. If your injuries require long-term or lifetime care, this is also going to up your claim’s value.
The extent of your property damage. Your property damage also impacts your claim’s value. Your claim is going to jump in value if your vehicle needs extensive repairs. Property damage also isn’t limited to your vehicle. You can pretty much list anything you own that’s damaged in the accident. This can include things like a purse, clothing, and electronics. However, before you start listing random items, make sure you can prove it was damaged in the accident.
Most personal injury claims list non-economic damages. This is something you definitely want to discuss with your Florida accident attorney. Your non-economic losses can significantly increase your potential settlement amount. Your attorney can also help you calculate these damages since your pain and suffering don’t come with convenient price tags.
Your Accident Claim Turns Into a Lawsuit
Even though the majority of personal injury claims manage to stay out of civil court, some turn into lawsuits. This can have a few upsides for you and your personal injury attorney. However, there are also potential downsides.
The primary disadvantage is trials aren’t exactly speedy. You’re probably going to find yourself waiting several months before your accident claim is finally settled. You’re also watching your contingency fees increase. While your attorney’s probably happy, you’re watching your potential settlement decrease. This can be enough to make you determined to stay out of civil court.
You may run into some good news with a personal injury lawsuit. Receiving the full value of your claim may be a little easier.
The factors affecting your personal injury claim’s value are the same ones impacting your accident attorney’s earnings. However, working with a Florida traffic accident attorney is usually the best way to recover fair compensation for your damages.
