We all understand how devastating the impact of personal injuries can be. Often times, these injuries also leave a physical, financial, and emotional impact on the victims as well as their family members.
This is why the legal systems around the world allow personal injury victims to recover compensation based on their quantum of damages.
However, it is always difficult to put a price on these cases because many different factors determine how much a particular case is worth.
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According to the legal experts at Acheson Sweeny Foley Sahota LLP, the value of a personal injury claim depends on the following factors.
Factors Affecting the Value of Clams:
Without having the details reviewed by a personal injury lawyer, it is not possible to determine the value of a case accurately. However, the amount of compensation likely to be awarded gets affected by certain factors.
- The foremost factor to affect the compensation amount is the severity of your injury. This will determine the amount and nature of medical treatment required by you. Some types of injuries require less than average medical care, while some others may require years of treatment and rehabilitation therapy. In the worst-case scenario, the victim may suffer for the rest of his or her life.
- In general, the person liable for the accident is held responsible for paying compensation to the victim. In some cases, only one party is held liable for the injuries. However, multiple parties are also held liable in some others. Compensation may be reduced if the at-fault party is able to establish that the victim was partially responsible for his or her injuries or if the liability is contested.
- Another important determinant of the compensation amount is the victim’s ability to work after sustaining an injury. Injuries resulting in ongoing complications sometimes affect the ability of a victim to perform his or her current job.
Disability resulting from the accident may also make the victim unfit to work at all, depriving him or her of earning any wages. Depending on the nature of the injury, the victim may lose the ability to perform household work, daily tasks, and recreational activities.
- After suffering injuries because of an accident, the victims often miss work to obtain medical care and ongoing treatment. As a result, they miss out on an earning opportunity.
Common Damages in a Personal Injury Claim:
Various types of damages can be received by personal injury claims.
- Medical Bills: All costs associated with medical treatment including physician and hospital bills, out-of-pocket expenses of the victim, and even estimated future treatment cost.
- Lost Compensation and Earning: The victim may be entitled to compensation for lost earning capacity if he or she is no longer able to earn the same wages by working in the same or a similar job. Similarly, he or she may also be compensated for the compensation missed while recovering from the injury.
- Property Damage: Property damaged in an accident may also be a part of the compensation received by the victim. The victim may receive reimbursement for the repairing cost or recover a fair market value for destroyed property.
- Pain and Suffering: The life of a victim can be affected significantly by the pain and suffering caused by an accident. The Supreme Court of Canada considers these damages to be non-pecuniary and has capped it at approximately $370,000.
- Claims by Family Members: Losses due to the victim’s injuries may also be experienced by their family members. Under the Family Law Act (FLA), the affected family members can file claims for compensation. For car accident claims not exceeding $50,000, FLA claims are subject to a deductible of $15,000. Family members eligible for such claims include spouses, children, parents, siblings, grandparents, and grandchildren.
