Frequently, individuals who have sustained a personal injury want to know the value of their cases. Like medical diagnoses, valuation of personal injury claims is typically not susceptible to a simple answer. There are many variables involved in valuing a personal injury case.

Before you can attempt to value a motor vehicle case, you must determine who was at fault for an accident and whether the fault lies solely with one person or is shared by multiple drivers. There are some situations where both drivers may be at fault for an accident. In Pennsylvania, if the injured person is completely or partly at fault, it may reduce or totally bar his or her personal injury recovery. If the person who is pursuing a personal injury claim is more than 50% at fault for an accident, he or she is totally barred from any recovery. If the plaintiff, or person bringing a personal injury claim, is 50% or less at fault, his or her claim or verdict will be reduced by the percent of negligence he or she bears.

For example, a jury may decide that the defendant (the driver who is being sued) is 70% at fault, and that the plaintiff (or person suing) is 30% at fault. In this scenario, if a jury renders a verdict of $100,000, the verdict would be reduced by the plaintiff’s 30% fault, so that the plaintiff would actually receive $70,000 rather than $100,000.

In evaluating a personal injury claim, there are many other issues that need to be considered. One of the most important is where the lawsuit may be filed. This is called the venue of a lawsuit. In Pennsylvania, a lawsuit usually may only be filed in the county where the accident occurred or in the county where the defendant resides or does business. Often, the amount of compensation or verdict a person receives in a personal injury case is based on the locale or venue of the lawsuit. Big cities such as Philadelphia, New York and Los Angeles tend to have more generous juries, which are more inclined to award larger verdicts in a personal injury case. The same personal injury case in Philadelphia may be valued much higher than a personal injury case in a small town where the juries tend to be more conservative in their decisions. Also, the bias and makeup of the jury will have a significant effect on the amount of money a person receives for his or her personal injury case.

In addition to the venue of a particular case, another important issue is the extent of the victim’s injuries and damages. A larger settlement or verdict is much less likely for a person who has suffered an injury from which he or she has fully recovered than it is for a person who has suffered a permanent injury, total disability, an impairment that significantly affects life activities or serious permanent scarring or disfigurement. The extent of pain and suffering attributable to a person’s personal injury claim is dependent on whether that person has had lengthy treatment, has undergone lengthy hospitalizations, painful surgeries, or a long rehabilitation or sustained an injury that has greatly altered that person’s quality of life. A physician’s diagnosis and prognosis will in many cases help determine the value of a personal injury claim.

Another significant factor in valuing personal injury cases is the amount of a person’s past and future wage losses due to the injuries suffered from an accident. Under Pennsylvania law, an injured person is entitled to recover past lost wages up to the time of recovery, as well as any future lost wages or future diminishment of earning potential over that person’s normal lifespan. Many large settlements and verdicts are attributable to a plaintiff’s economic or actual past and future wage losses. Since lost wages are more objective than "non-economic damages" such as pain and suffering, a lawyer can often better predict the outcome of a case in which there is significant wage loss.

Pennsylvania law does not permit attorneys to ask for a specific amount of money for "non-economic" damages, such as pain and suffering damages. This often surprises clients, who may have heard that other states permit a lawyer to sue for a specific amount of money for non-economic damages. Because lawyers are not permitted to express any opinion on the amount a client should receive for pain and suffering damages at trial, juries often are inconsistent in the amount of money they award. At a personal injury trial, the judge specifically instructs the jury that they are to award what they feel is fair to compensate a person for noneconomic damages, based on the evidence they heard at trial.

By retaining an experienced personal injury law firm such as Hagelgans & Veronis, you can be assured that experienced attorneys will present your case in the most positive light and present all of the damages in a way that increases your chances of maximum compensation for your personal injury claim. With over 75 years of experience in personal injury cases, the partners at Hagelgans & Veronis know the value of personal injury claims based on thousands of prior claims they have handled. Furthermore, the attorneys are familiar with most insurance companies and in most cases have previously settled claims with the same claim representatives and defense attorneys who will be involved in your case.