If you or a loved one has suffered a serious brain injury, you may wonder how much compensation you may be eligible to receive from the at fault party. At Law Offices of Michael A. Kahn we encourage you to get a free legal consultation with an experienced personal injury attorney. When you call us at (310) 209-1600, we can go over your specific case to get a good estimate. In the meantime, keep reading to learn about six factors that will likely have an impact.
- Liability
- How Many People or Entities Were at Fault
- The Plaintiff
- The Location of the Trial
- Punitive Damages
- Mitigating Damages
As you may imagine, a case in which liability is clear and noncontroversial is likely to lead to a higher overall settlement than a case in which liability is in question.
Though it’s common to think of accidents as being caused by one person, in real life there are often several individuals or companies that played a part in causing the injury. Each of these people or entities are likely to be defended by their own insurance companies, and this will affect the overall compensation.
In a perfect world, every brain injury case would be based on nothing but the facts but the reality is that a judge and / or jury is likely to take into account various factors about the plaintiff, whether knowingly or unknowingly. As a result, the plaintiff’s age, job, likeability, and medical history may affect the total settlement amount or jury award.
There are some venues that have more conservatives judges and jury members than others. In these, you can expect to likely get a lower damage award. On the other hand, more populated, urban areas generally give higher damage awards. You can count on the fact that insurance adjusters will consider this when negotiating a settlement with your attorney.
While most damages in most personal injury cases are designed to reimburse the plaintiff for costs or emotional suffering, punitive damages may be awarded in particularly egregious cases in an effort to punish the defendant. They generally will not be part of a settlement but they can be used as a bargaining factor to keep the defendant from pushing the case to trial.
Mitigating damages are, put simply, damages that the court or defendant believes would not have happened, or would have been lessened, if the plaintiff had acted differently. For example, if you did not seek medical care for two weeks after the accident, and the defendant can show that your current medical costs are higher because of it, then the total settlement amount may be reduced accordingly.
Hopefully these estimates gave you an idea of what to expect. Remember that they may or may not apply to your specific case. The best way to find out is to contact Law Offices of Michael A. Kahn at (310) 209-1600 for a free legal consultation.
