It is no secret that personal injury lawsuits on the basis of traumatic brain injury bring huge settlements and verdicts, but how much can you actually recover and how to calculate your own damages?
First of all, let our Los Angeles brain injury attorney from the JML Law explain why personal injury settlements for brain injuries usually total thousands of hundreds or even millions of dollars in California.
“You see, brain and head injuries usually cause the most severe damage imaginable as they may impact the person’s memory, cognitive thinking, as well as emotional and behavioral patterns, all of which can substantially hurt the injured person’s standard of living and earning capacity,” explains our lawyer.
‘How much is my personal injury case worth’
You have probably heard numerous stories of people recovering millions of dollars for their brain injury after a car accident or any other accident in San Francisco and elsewhere in California. But if you have suffered a traumatic brain injury (TBI) yourself, you are probably wondering how much you should be willing to accept to settle your personal injury claim with the at-fault party and their insurance company.
For that, you will need the legal help of an experienced brain injury attorney in Los Angeles who will accurately and carefully calculate your damages. Brain injury is quite tricky, and in order to determine the value of your personal injury claim based on a TBI, various factors will be taken into account by a competent medical professional and attorney.
How to calculate your damages for a brain injury settlement
Calculate the tangible costs of your injury. This one is usually the easiest part of calculating damages for a brain injury, as all you need to do is add up the tangible costs of your injury, which usually include medical bills and loss of income. For that, you will be required to keep all receipts and records of everything you have paid for as a result of the injury, including medications, medical devices, rehabilitation expenses, doctor visits, transportation expenses, and other expenses and losses.
Estimate future damages, losses, and expenses. This one requires the help of a San Francisco brain injury attorney and a qualified medical professional, who will be able to estimate the loss of future income, loss of earning capacity in the long term, and future medical expenses, and then put a dollar value on it.
Estimate the intangible costs of your injury. A rule of thumb is that intangible damages are calculated by multiplying the total amount of the tangible costs by 1.5 to 5 times, depending on the severity of your brain injury and circumstances of your particular case. These damages include pain and suffering damages, emotional distress, and others.
Add up the above-mentioned amounts and adjust the sum of the damages based on whether or not the defendant is clearly at-fault, how much money you will save by not going to trial, and other factors. Usually, the easier it is to establish liability in a personal injury case involving a brain injury, the higher the settlement. Also the more parties you can sue, the higher the compensation.
Consider your own characteristics. When calculating the value of your brain injury settlement, an experienced lawyer will take into consideration your own characteristics, including but not limited to age, occupation, prior medical conditions, if any, and others.
Consider where the case would be tried. If you were to file a personal injury lawsuit in San Francisco or Los Angeles, you would generally be awarded a larger settlement or verdict compared to lawsuits in smaller cities and towns in California. So take into consideration the area and court where you would potentially file a personal injury lawsuit, and adjust the value of your claim accordingly.
Do not attempt to calculate your damages without seeking legal help. Let our best brain injury lawyers in California put our experienced and knowledge to use and help you recover the maximum compensation you deserve in a timely manner. Speak to our attorneys at the JML Law in a free consultation. Call at 818-610-8800 or complete this contact form.
