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Evaluating personal injury claims is a tricky business. In the past six years my firm, CapTran, has underwritten 10,000 requests for pre-settlement advances by plaintiffs. We have never had anyone tell us that their case was not a "slam dunk" or that they were not going to get a large settlement. We are all the time told the assurance firm is going to rule swiftly because their case and/or attorney are so good.

Bodily Injury Liability Coverage

Our taste tells us - baloney!

Unrealistic expectations in personal injury law are a method for inevitable disappointment. Rarely do even slam-dunk cases get settled swiftly for large amounts. Quite the opposite, slam-dunk cases commonly involve serious injuries that want a long time to treat. Settlements are rarely reached prior to the victim achieving maximum curative improvement.

Hubris aside, every person wants to know the real value of their case. Unfortunately, crisis victims are often beset with self-appointed experts replete with stories and anecdotal evidence of huge jury awards. They know someone who knows someone who got a huge village for a back strain or "whiplash". These influences do nothing but confuse the issue and most of the time has nothing to do with reality.

The truth is that, with the exception of the horrific paralyzing or disfiguring injury, most crisis damage awards fall within a very predictable range. The National communication protection Board reports that 3 million citizen are injured in motor car accidents each year and assurance companies pay out nearly Billion in corporeal injury claims annually. The assurance explore Council conducts a study of auto claims every five years. The survey's participant's list for about two out of every three claims paid in the United States. In short, there is an large amount of data ready to assurance companies concerning every conceivable type of injury and the amount paid to rule the claim.

Facts to consider

1. The average amount paid for a corporeal injury claim is less than ,000.

2. The amount paid varies widely by state.

3. Insurance companies are very wary of chiropractic treatment, especially if it is the only treatment.

4. Insurance companies are very wary of inordinate corporeal therapy treatment.

If your attorney is experienced in personal injury cases he or she will know the range of values and the claiming behavior of assurance adjusters in your area. Our taste is that attorneys are prone to overestimate the value of your case rather than underestimate it. We urge you to listen to your attorney's guidance concerning claim value because it is unlikely that they will overestimate its worth. If you attorney is not experienced in Pi cases - well, get other attorney.

That having been said, we offer the following thoughts that come from our experience. We have diminutive our comments to the most coarse type of case - motor car accidents.

Factors to Consider

There are a great many factors that impact on the potential value of you claim. In order to rule whether (and how much) to invest in your case, CapTran® uses these factors or case attributes, to imagine the value of a case. In normal we look at the following case attributes:

1. The event

2. Liability

3. Ability to pay

4. Damages

5. "Quality" of the Defendant

6. "Quality" of the Plaintiff - you!

1. The Event

What certainly happened? Not what you think happened, or even what you know happened but rather, what can be verified or proven.

o If the police did not arrive at the scene it will be more difficult for you to prove anything.

o If you received a label you will have a difficult time collecting full value for your case (in contributory negligence states you may regain nothing!)

o If the defendant received a ticket, his or her assurance carrier is more likely to readily admit liability.

o If the crisis happened in a manner that is certainly not your fault and/or demonstrates recklessness on the part of the defendant, the assurance carrier is more likely to endeavor to settle.

o Where there witnesses unrelated to you and not in your car present? If so, defendant's assurance carrier is more likely to readily admit liability.

o Did the other driver admit liability at the scene? If so, defendant's assurance carrier is more likely to readily admit liability.

o Did you take pictures of the car at the scene or later?

o Was your car sharp or stopped? If lawfully stopped it is very unlikely that you will be deemed to have contributed to the crisis and the defendant's assurance carrier is more likely to admit liability.

2. Liability

The certainty of liability or the availability of a defense will impact the level of enthusiasm the assurance carrier has to rule your case. If there appears to be a valid defense available, even if not perfect, the value of a village offer will suffer. If the injuries are minor, the only thing the assurance firm has to lose is the price of trying the case.

3. Ability to Pay

Regardless of your damages, someone has to have the ability to pay in order for you to collect. The availability of assurance or a financially strong defendant is needful to the ability to achieve financial redress for your injuries.

Amount of assurance coverage. assurance policies have limits on the amount they will pay per crisis victim as well as per accident. If you are one of several citizen injured in an crisis you will have to share the coverage with the other claimants. For example, if a procedure has a "per accident" cap of 0,000 and five citizen are injured each with a claim worth of ,000 (for a total of 0,000) there will not be enough to cover all claims.

Self Insurance. Many large companies self-insure meaning that instead of paying premises to an assurance company, they set aside inevitable monies each year to construct an assurance hold to cope time to come claims. Many times the firm will certainly have its own so-called captive assurance company.

4. Damages

Severity of impact. This is coarse sense. If your car has a sustained diminutive damage the assurance adjuster will know that a jury is likely to stop that no one could have been seriously injured in such a "fender bender". On the other hand, they will not want to go up against an attorney that can hold up a picture of your severely demolished car telling the jury "why, my client is lucky to be alive!"

When you received treatment. If you went to the crisis in an ambulance that is great than if you went to the crisis room two days later (especially if you went to your attorney first).

Soft tissue injuries versus broken bones. Most minor accidents involve what used to be called "whiplash" but are now referred to as cervical strain or sprain. A broken bone is easy to prove and easy for juries to understand. With soft tissue injuries, it is difficult for juries to separate good claims from fraudulent ones. assurance adjusters know that juries will not award large amounts for soft tissue injuries.

If you have a broken bone, especially if it is a weight-bearing bone, you have an injury that can be verified by indisputable evidence such as x-rays.

Amount of your curative bills. While "meds" are a very needful (often the most significant) factor in determining case value, there is no uncomplicated method to use in determining case value. Forget the junk about "3 times meds" or "3 times specials". assurance explore Council study data reveals that corporeal injury claims cannot be estimated in such a uncomplicated fashion. Values vary widely from state to state and the type of meds is very important. Some rules of thumb are:

1. "Treating" expenses carry more weight with assurance adjusters than diagnostic expenses. It matters diminutive that you decided to have an costly Mri or Cat Scan.

2. Chiropractic expenses are severely discounted by assurance adjusters (and ignored by us).

3. Excessive visits to the corporeal therapist are not only discounted by adjusters but along with chiropractic bills also raise a red flag for what is called "build-up".

Medical providers that treated you. assurance adjusters look for medicine by curative specialists that indicate clear-cut injuries connected with vehicular impact. If you are only treated by the Er physician and maybe your house physician it will not carry as much weight as if you were treated by an Orthopedic Surgeon or a Neurologist.

Documentation of your injury. Failure to go for curative treatment, or large gaps of time between treatments, are red flags for assurance adjusters. Inadequate documentation will not pass muster with assurance adjusters.

5. ability of the Defendant

Appearance matters in court. Every adjuster knows that a sympathetic defendant is less likely to suffer large verdicts. The inverse is, of course, true as well. The kind of evidence, especially prior acts that can be presented in court varies from state to state but defendants must be wary that adverse evidence concerning the plaintiff will see its way into the jury room.

6. ability of Plaintiff - You!

We have had several good cases lost because the jury plainly didn't like the plaintiff. If you appear too strident or are overly aggressive, combatant or belligerent, a jury will find a way to punish you for your behavior.

If you have had several minor accidents a jury may stop that you are a scam artist.

Above all else, try to be realistic in your assessment of your claim. The object of the tort principles is to compensate you for your damages not to unreasonably enrich you. Be sensible and cheap and you will heighten your chances for a victorious outcome. Good luck!

This report is intended for data only and should not be construed as legal advice. You should consult your own attorney for legal advice.

©Copyright Capital Transaction Group Inc

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