If you’ve been injured and someone else is at fault, then you may be thinking about hiring a personal injury attorney. It’s natural to want to receive compensation for your injuries, especially if medical bills are piling up. There’s more to a case than simply filing a claim, however.
When you’re seeking an attorney to represent you in your personal injury lawsuit in Florida, then it’s important to understand how an attorney evaluates your claim and what you should look for in an attorney that will champion your case. Here’s what you need to know.
The Value of an Injury Claim
There are a few factors that influence the value of a personal injury claim. The idea behind compensation for an injury is that it will “make you whole,” but each case is different. Below are some of the most common factors in developing the value of a claim.
Costs of Medical Bills
Any past, current, and future medical costs related to your injuries can be compensated. This includes medical treatments, pain therapies, transportation to and from medical appointments, and adaptive medical devices you may need.
Income Lost
If you’ve been unable to work due to your injuries, then you can be compensated for wages you could not earn due to the injury. If your injury is permanent, then you can get compensation for all of your lost wages. However, working at a diminished capacity can also be eligible for the difference of what you earned prior to the injury in comparison to now.
Emotional Distress
If in the aftermath of your injury you have been suffering from anxiety, depression, or any other emotional issues, then you can be compensated.
Pain and Suffering
Sometimes, an insurance company will use something called a pain multiplier to access actual economic loss related to pain and suffering from an injury. This number is arrived at by taking your economic losses and multiplying them by a designated number to estimate damages.
Insurance Limits
The insurance of the party who is at-fault usually covers losses and costs associated with a personal injury claim. But insurers often only pay up to the limits of the policy, so this limit must be taken into consideration.
Comparative Negligence
Florida is a pure comparative negligence state, which means that how much you can recover from your injuries depends on the amount of fault you are found to have in the events that caused the injury. You can still recover damages even if you had some degree of fault in the injury.
What to Look For in a Personal Injury Attorney
There are several things to look for in a personal injury attorney to make sure you’re getting one that is the right fit for you.
Listening Skills
You need an attorney that can listen since an accident that has driven you to seek damages is probably an accident that resulted in issues that are having a huge impact on your life. Make sure an attorney is focused on you when you speak and they ask engaging questions.
Thoroughness
You need an attorney that will take the time to prepare a case the right way. They have to invest time, energy, and resources in order to make this happen.
They Call You Back
No one likes an attorney that isn’t responsive, so make sure you choose one that doesn’t leave you in the dark about how your case is progressing and who include you in the process.
About the Author:
Andrew Winston is a partner at the personal injury law firm of Winston Law. For over 20 years, he has successfully represented countless people in all kinds of personal injury cases, with a particular focus on child injury, legal malpractice, and premises liability. He has been recognized for excellence in the representation of injured clients by admission to the Million Dollar Advocates Forum, and named one of America’s Top 100 High-Stakes Litigators. Mr. Winston is AV Preeminent Rated by the Martindale-Hubbell Law Directory, enjoys a 10.0 rating by AVVO as a Top Personal Injury Attorney, has been selected as a Florida “SuperLawyer” from 2011-2020 – an honor reserved for the top 5% of lawyers in the state – was voted to Florida Trend’s ”Legal Elite,” recognized by Expertise as one of the 20 Best Fort Lauderdale personal injury attorneys, named one of the Top 100 Lawyers in the Miami area for 2015-2017, and one of the Top 100 Lawyers in Florida for 2015-2017 and 2019.
