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Your lawyer will tell you that there are many factors involved when determining the real worth of a head injury claim settlement. There are many ways to get a head injury. You could either have a concussion or a traumatic brain injury (TBI). These can seriously and negatively affect your memory and critical/cognitive thinking capabilities. They can also negatively and permanently change the way you behave.
You’ll probably be hiring a personal injury lawyer in Sarnia to help defend you in court if someone else caused your head injury. You and your lawyer will need to discuss and agree upon the settlement amount that is acceptable for you. You can save a lot of time and money if you settle out of court. However, every personal injury case is unique and it’s the details and several factors that will influence exactly how much of a payout you will receive.
Types of damages in head injury cases
There are two types of damages that you can get compensated for in these types of cases: special and general.
Special damages:
Your lawyer will inform you that these damages can be assigned an exact dollar amount. They include:
● Funeral and burial expenses
● Lost wages/loss of employment
● Cost of current, future, and past medical treatment
● Cost of repairing and/or replacing damaged property
General damages
Your lawyer will tell you that these damages are often hard to measure in dollars. They include:
● Pain and suffering
● Shock and mental anguish
● Loss of enjoyment of life
● Loss of consortium, society, and companionship
● Emotional distress
Factors that influence a head injury settlement
These are some of the factors that can influence the final value of your head injury settlement:
● Liability – you’ll get more money if it’s obvious that the other guy was at fault
● Many defendants – your personal injury lawyer will tell you that this may lower your settlement value. This is especially true if they have different insurance companies. It can be tough to decide which defendant should pay.
● Characteristics of the plaintiff – your medical history, health, amicability, and work will influence your final settlement value
● The defendant acted recklessly – you’ll probably get punitive damages as well
● Mitigating damages – the courts will try to keep the damages that the defendant has to pay as low as possible, so will the insurance company.
As is evident, there are many factors to take into consideration when determining the final settlement value. Your chances of getting a high settlement value increase when you hire a good personal injury lawyer.