Determining the Value of An Injury Claim
A broad range of factors will affect the value of your personal injury claim. In fact, the value of your claim may not be clear right after the accident. It may take time for doctors to evaluate the true extent of your injuries and your prognosis for recovery, which is necessary to determine an accurate valuation of your claim.
A lawyer will discuss some of the other factors that can affect case value below. If you would like to go over the value of your case, contact an Ontario injury lawyer immediately.
Valuing a Personal Injury Claim
Difficulties in the valuation of personal injury claims arise because all personal injury cases are different. Victims of similar accidents may have vastly different injuries and outcomes. In the early weeks or months following a serious injury, it is also difficult to predict what type of ongoing care an accident victim will need in the future.
Nevertheless, a lawyer has many tools they use to estimate claim value. These may include:
- Calculating all of an individual’s expenses and losses to present time
- Discussing an ongoing care needs with medical experts
- An analysis of similar cases decide by the Courts
Types of Damages
There are two broad types of damages typically recoverable in a personal injury claim:
- Special damages
- General damages
Special damages are recoverable in respect of financial expenses and other economic losses quantified up to the date of trial. This includes costs such as:
- Out-of-pocket therapies or medical care
- Special assistive devices
- Ongoing care costs
- Lost wages
General damages are damages that do not have an objectively quantifiable economic value, and divide into two broad subcategories: pecuniary and non-pecuniary damages. General non-pecuniary damages cover damages that cannot be fully compensated with money, including:
- Physical and emotional pain and suffering
- Loss of quality of life
- Loss of consortium
Pecuniary damages include economic losses that cannot be objectively quantified, such as loss of future earnings, and loss of earning capacity, often referred to as loss of competitive advantage.
Valuing both economic and noneconomic damages is difficult and highly variable depending on the specific facts of the case. For example, lost wages and earning potential is highly dependent on the victim’s current wages and career prospects.
Contact a Lawyer
If you have been injured in an accident and have incurred financial losses as a result, our Ontario personal injury lawyers may be able to help you recover compensation. To learn more about the amount of damages to which you might be entitled, book a free initial consultation with Preszler Injury Lawyers by calling 1-800-JUSTICE.
