How much is your claim worth?
This is a very complex question to answer without being retained and without having reviewed the complete file relating to your claim. Therefore the best source to ask this question is your own lawyer. Only as general information, which you should not rely on without consulting your own lawyer first, we provide some explanation below.
Example: You are 45 years old and have been working for 3 years earning $45,000 a year by the time of the accident. You suffered serious injuries and have not been able to return to work since the accident that took place 2 years ago. There is no chance you can earn some income again. You are receiving long term disability benefits through an insurance policy with your employer in the amount of $2,000 per month in taxable income. In the accident you suffered a broken leg which required one open surgery with insertion of metal rod to internally fixate your broken bones.
How much is the entire claim worth? Assuming the accident occurred in 2017 (as the law may be different at different times), under the law, you may claim pain and suffering damages, as well as economic losses. Your pain and suffering would appear to be in the range of $100,000 to $200,000, depending on how much pain you are still experiencing daily, and how much medications and treatment you also require. Pain and suffering damages can be higher if your pain is unmanageable despite treatment. Your income loss would be estimated generally as follows: you are entitled to claim 70% of your gross income up to the time of trial, and 100% of your gross income from the date of trial forward. From this amount, you deduct what you have received by way of income replacement benefits and long term disability benefits. The number of years you would have worked had the accident not occurred is estimated generally to age 65 (though the trend may be higher than 65). Taking into account the present values of future losses, your income loss would be in the range of $600,000 to $700,000 assuming retirement at age 65, and before deducting past income benefits received from other sources.
There can be treatment expenses, handyman capacity and home making capacity, etc... that can be added on if the evidence warrants.
Anyhow, even without treatment expenses, handyman capacity losses, your pain and suffering and income loss would be in the range of $700,000 to $900,000. The precise reasonable settlement amount will vary depending on your credibility (honesty) etc... But you should know that in such a case, a settlement in the range of $200,000 - $300,000 would not appear to be fair to your situation. This range appears low enough that should give you serious review your settlement demands.
Remember that your settlement may still be more than one million dollars should your pain be dramatically uncontrollable, and that you need attendant care or supervisory care etc... I have kept out such care needs to keep the example simple.
Here is an example from our experience as a caution: An injured man in his mid thirties was injured. Although he suffered no broken bones, he hurt his back and had a disc bulge. He was earning $35,000 a year at the time of the accident. He had a family with two young children. He did not speak English as his first language. He was referred to a law firm where one of the law clerks spoke his language. The lawyer eventually settled one of his claims (for no-fault statutory accident benefits - the claim that you usually claim from your own insurer) for $12,500. The victim eventually retained us for the tort claim. We had to re-open the accident benefits claim despite it having been settled. Fortunately for the victim, we were able to re-open the settlement to renegotiate a new one. To protect confidentiality, we can not disclose the amount of his settlement. Suffice to say however that after a lot of work and legal proceedings, our client eventually received a settlement that properly protects him and his family.
This is a very complex question to answer without being retained and without having reviewed the complete file relating to your claim. Therefore the best source to ask this question is your own lawyer. Only as general information, which you should not rely on without consulting your own lawyer first, we provide some explanation below.
Example: You are 45 years old and have been working for 3 years earning $45,000 a year by the time of the accident. You suffered serious injuries and have not been able to return to work since the accident that took place 2 years ago. There is no chance you can earn some income again. You are receiving long term disability benefits through an insurance policy with your employer in the amount of $2,000 per month in taxable income. In the accident you suffered a broken leg which required one open surgery with insertion of metal rod to internally fixate your broken bones.
How much is the entire claim worth? Assuming the accident occurred in 2017 (as the law may be different at different times), under the law, you may claim pain and suffering damages, as well as economic losses. Your pain and suffering would appear to be in the range of $100,000 to $200,000, depending on how much pain you are still experiencing daily, and how much medications and treatment you also require. Pain and suffering damages can be higher if your pain is unmanageable despite treatment. Your income loss would be estimated generally as follows: you are entitled to claim 70% of your gross income up to the time of trial, and 100% of your gross income from the date of trial forward. From this amount, you deduct what you have received by way of income replacement benefits and long term disability benefits. The number of years you would have worked had the accident not occurred is estimated generally to age 65 (though the trend may be higher than 65). Taking into account the present values of future losses, your income loss would be in the range of $600,000 to $700,000 assuming retirement at age 65, and before deducting past income benefits received from other sources.
There can be treatment expenses, handyman capacity and home making capacity, etc... that can be added on if the evidence warrants.
Anyhow, even without treatment expenses, handyman capacity losses, your pain and suffering and income loss would be in the range of $700,000 to $900,000. The precise reasonable settlement amount will vary depending on your credibility (honesty) etc... But you should know that in such a case, a settlement in the range of $200,000 - $300,000 would not appear to be fair to your situation. This range appears low enough that should give you serious review your settlement demands.
Remember that your settlement may still be more than one million dollars should your pain be dramatically uncontrollable, and that you need attendant care or supervisory care etc... I have kept out such care needs to keep the example simple.
Here is an example from our experience as a caution: An injured man in his mid thirties was injured. Although he suffered no broken bones, he hurt his back and had a disc bulge. He was earning $35,000 a year at the time of the accident. He had a family with two young children. He did not speak English as his first language. He was referred to a law firm where one of the law clerks spoke his language. The lawyer eventually settled one of his claims (for no-fault statutory accident benefits - the claim that you usually claim from your own insurer) for $12,500. The victim eventually retained us for the tort claim. We had to re-open the accident benefits claim despite it having been settled. Fortunately for the victim, we were able to re-open the settlement to renegotiate a new one. To protect confidentiality, we can not disclose the amount of his settlement. Suffice to say however that after a lot of work and legal proceedings, our client eventually received a settlement that properly protects him and his family.