One of the first questions we get asked by potential clients during our free consultation and case evaluation, is how much compensation we think the client will get following a car accident. Another common question is, what is the average car accident settlement?
Unfortunately, until the true scope of your damages can be understood, it is hard to know exactly how much your case is worth. There is no typical car accident settlement, as there are many complex aspects to a personal injury case.
Besides the damages you have suffered, there is a range of factors that will affect your settlement amount or the damages you are awarded, such as:
- The quality and reputation of your attorney;
- The quality of the other parties’ representation;
- The level of comparative fault;
- The severity of your injuries;
- Whether you were in an accident with a truck;
- The number of injured parties.
Abraham Watkins – Car Accident Attorneys You Can Put Your Faith In
Being involved in a motor vehicle collision can be traumatic. Victims can be left with emotional trauma from the event and serious injuries that may never heal. Due to their very nature, a car or truck accident has a higher chance of leading to serious injuries or the wrongful death of a loved one than other types of accidents. This is due to the force and power involved when over a tonne of metal crashes into another person, object, or vehicle.
If somebody else caused an accident, and you were injured, you may be entitled to claim from them for their negligence. There are two ways you can do this. The first is by negotiating a settlement from the other party and their insurance company, the second is to file a personal injury lawsuit and pursue the recovery of your damages through litigation.
Both routes are best tackled with a strong, skilled attorney representing you, such as the attorneys here at Abraham Watkins. Our team has over 70 years of experience, and we are proud to be one of the longest-serving law firms in the state. During this time, we have secured favorable outcomes for countless clients following car and truck accidents.
Call us today at 713-535-9319.
Factors That Influence the Value of a Car Accident Settlement/Car Accident Lawsuit
The most important influencing factor on the amount of compensation you may be able to secure following your car accident is the value of the damages that you have suffered. Car accident victims are likely to suffer from serious injuries and a range of economic and non-economic losses.
The damages that will change the value of your settlement could include:
Medical Expenses
When you have been involved in an accident caused by another party, you should not be left out of pocket. This means that you should not have to pay for or claim for your medical expenses on your own healthcare or car insurance policy. While you may need to use your car accident insurance PIP to pay for your immediate care if you pursue compensation, the recovery of your medical expenses should be included.
It is important that the true scope of your injuries is assessed before you seek compensation. This is because many victims each year accept a settlement amount that seems attractive but, in reality, does not adequately cover their long-term medical treatment.
Your attorney may need to bring in medical experts to provide expert testimonials when it comes to placing a figure on long-term treatment costs and healthcare.
Loss of Wages
Taking time off work because you have been in a truck or car accident can be anxiety provoking. Many companies will not offer adequate sick pay, if they even offer it at all. This can leave victims, and their families, without the victims’ income. This can leave the victim in a tough spot, especially if they are the primary income in their household.
You should not have to suffer from a loss of wages because of the negligence of another individual. Fortunately, if your case is successful, your attorney should recover all of your lost income.
In the most serious cases, where a victim suffers an injury that means they will never be able to return to work in the same capacity, such as the loss of a limb, spinal damage, or brain damage, your attorney may bring in financial experts. These experts can provide testimonials on what a lifetime of lost earnings potential should be worth in your claim.
Pain and Suffering Damages
The most substantial claim in most personal injury claims, truck and car accident claims included, is the compensation the victim receives for pain and suffering. Pain and suffering is a broad term that can encompass the physical pain a victim has suffered or will suffer, any mental trauma a victim has been left with, such as PTSD, anxiety, depression, or a phobia of driving, and the emotional distress of losing income and paying economic damages.
Pain and suffering are subjective, meaning it will be the responsibility of the attorney representing you to place a value on your pain and suffering. This is a tough task, and each personal injury attorney will have their own way of doing things based upon their previous successes in similar cases.
They will first calculate the economic damages a victim has suffered, such as their medical bills and lost wages, and then apply a multiplier to that total, giving them a rough idea of what they think your car accident injury settlement amount should be.
- The severity of pain;
- Length of recovery time;
- Effect on victim’s life/Loss of enjoyment.
The Severity of Pain
The severity of pain that a victim goes through should be evaluated on two scales, the length of time the victim has been in pain and the level of pain they have been through. Certain injuries can leave long-lasting damage, such as burns and serious lacerations. These will leave the victim suffering a lot more than if they have bruising or whiplash.
The longer a victim has been in pain and the worse the pain, the higher the severity.
Length of Recovery Time
The most severe injuries in car accidents could require the victims to undergo long-term treatment. This is likely to affect them in the future. The time it takes to recover from an injury should be taken into account as well as how long the treatment/physiotherapy is going to require. For example, a broken bone may only take six months to heal but it could require several years of weekly physical therapy sessions, and this should be taken into account.
Effect on a Victim’s Life/Loss of Enjoyment
Loss of enjoyment in a personal injury claim compensates a victim for the loss of enjoyment that the accident has caused. If the victim was a keen hiker who used to hike once a week and can no longer go hiking, this loss of enjoyment that the victim is going to feel should be compensated for.
How to Find The Best Injury Lawyer To Handle Your Car or Truck Accident Claim
Finding the right attorney to handle your truck or car accident case is an important task, as it will directly influence how likely you are to succeed and the amount of compensation you are awarded.
The best time to involve your accident attorney is as soon as you have received immediate medical treatment. The sooner you involve them, the better, as they may need to send an investigation team to the scene.
If you are unsure of which attorney to hire to represent you, we recommend that you look for one that can show they have an extensive history of winning cases that are just like yours. You should ask them to see their victories and choose the most experienced attorney you can.
One great way to do independent research is by checking out your local attorneys on AVVO, an independent review site that places a rating out of 10.00 on attorneys based on their years of service, past victories, peer reviews, accolades, and accreditations.
What Happens When You Contact Abraham Watkins Following a Motor Vehicle Accident?
When you contact a car accident lawyer here at Abraham Watkins, we will schedule a free initial consultation and case evaluation with you. During this meeting, you will get the opportunity to discuss your case with a skilled auto accident attorney with years of experience, and numerous case wins. They will ask the important questions they need to ask to ensure your case is a valid one, and if you are comfortable, we can discuss our fee structure.
Here at Abraham Watkins, we work on a contingency fee basis. We believe our clients deserve access to high-quality legal representation without an upfront cost. We take the case on if we think it is valid, and you only pay us our fees out of your settlement if we win the case. This gives victims the confidence to proceed with their claim. Up-front fees should never be a reason that you forgo the chance of pursuing what is rightfully owed to you.
The second you agree to representation we will begin working on your case. If you have called us from the scene of the accident then we may send investigators straight to the scene. If you have any eye-witnesses and any evidence you have managed to collect, we will begin building your case and tracking your witnesses down to obtain statements that back your case. We will also speak to the emergency services if they attended the scene and obtain their accident reports.
This investigation will allow us to assign liability and build the strongest possible case on your behalf.
As a law firm that has been fighting on behalf of accident victims for over seven decades, our attorneys can boast a collective experience that is many times that. This means we have handled vast numbers of cases for victims just like you. We can draw upon countless cases that we have won when we need to tailor your strategy to your case to give you the best chance of recovering every penny of your damages.
We are also uniqley placed to handle complex auto accident cases, such as those involving commerical trucks. Due to their size and weight, damages can quickly exceed policy limits. Our truck accident attorneys will explore every avenue to compensation and will fight tirelessly to secure the compensation you deserve.
We won’t rest, we don’t settle for less, and we aren’t afraid to employ all of the resources in our vast arsenal to secure you a victory. Our experience, paired with our network of expert witnesses and financial experts, will all be put at your disposal.
Do I Really Need an Attorney to Handle My Car Accident Case?
Many truck and car accident victims decide they wish to pursue their own auto accident settlements without a personal injury lawyer, and no law prevents you from doing so.
We recommend against it, however, as you will be up against a highly trained and skilled legal team who have the sole task of defending their clients against claims like yours. Without legal representation, they may use your lack of knowledge against you to reduce their payout or may even be able to maneuver out of paying you at all.
Car accident settlement amounts are usually higher when they are pursued by a skilled attorney, even after the attorney takes their fees from the average settlement.
If your accident was severe, such as those involving trucks, then you may need to seek compensation from multiple sources to secure what you deserve including the truck driver, trucking company, or loading company. These cases are highly complex and require the help of an experienced truck accident lawyer, such as those found at Abraham Watkins.
An attorney that has a strong reputation for fighting and winning cases may also sway the other party to offer a settlement when they would not have before. This is because they know that their chances of succeeding if you pursue damages in court are lower if your attorney is a skilled trial lawyer.
At Abraham Watkins, our attorneys have a reputation for fierce advocacy and winning cases at trial.
How Much Compensation Can I Receive For My Car Accident Injuries FAQ
How much compensation is typical for car accident settlements?
There is no typical compensation when it comes to a personal injury settlement. Cases are unique, and so many factors influence the amount of compensation on offer that we cannot give an average sum for your car accident settlement.
Examples of what may influence your compensation are the pain you have been through, the level of displacement that the accident has had and will go on to have on your life, the quality of the representation on each side, and the value of your damages will all affect your compensation sum. Truck accidents also tend to result in a higher settlement, due to their severity.
How much will I receive for pain and suffering?
The value of your pain and suffering damages will depend on the pain you have been through as a result of the injuries you have suffered, as well as how long you have been in pain and how long you may go on to be in pain for. Life-long injuries will increase your pain and suffering damages massively.
Other influences are loss of enjoyment of life, which covers you for changes to your life that mean you can no longer do the things you used to love, and emotional distress, such as the development of mental illnesses like PTSD, anxiety, and depression as a result of the accident and your injuries.
Do I have to tell my insurance company?
Depending on your insurance coverage, you may be required to inform them that you have been in an accident in a certain timeframe. You do not have to tell them any details though and we recommend that you simply tell them your attorney will be in touch.
How long do I have to make a claim in Texas?
The statute of limitations, which is the period of time you have by law to make a claim after an accident, is two years in Texas. This means you have two years from the date of the accident to make a claim. There are several exceptions. If you have only discovered your injuries months down the line, you may be entitled to an extension.
If the accident has led to the death of the victim, the statute of limitations begins from the date of the death, not from the date of the incident.
These time limits are designed to protect individuals from being sued when too much time has passed since the event happened to judge liability accurately.
While you may feel like you have a long time to make your claim, remember, the sooner you involve your attorney, the better. CCTV footage, accident scenes, and witnesses can all become less reliable the longer you leave it, and evidence may be lost that could secure your case.
Is compensation guaranteed?
It is extremely unethical for a lawyer to ever guarantee you that you are going to win your case. They may talk about your case being strong, but a promise of victory should never be given. We recommend avoiding an attorney that promises your victory.
How long does it take to secure compensation?
The period of time that a case takes to complete will vary entirely depending on the various complex factors that influence a personal injury case.
One of the main factors is the severity of your injuries. Your attorney will want to wait to see the full scope of your injuries to ensure they are recovering enough compensation to cover your future costs. This is why many insurance companies will offer a settlement in the days or weeks following the accident.
This settlement amount may seem attractive, and many victims take the offer before realizing that the settlement does not cover their medical bills later on down the line. This is an insurance company tactic used when they know they are likely to lose the case. They will have run the numbers and have offered a sum that is significantly less than they know they owe.
Once you accept any settlement offer, you legally forgo the right to pursue further compensation from them.
If you have an attorney with a strong reputation, there is a good chance your case will be over quickly as the other party will know not to try their luck by drawing the case out as your attorney will likely win if it moves to litigation.
Speak to One of Our Experienced Attorneys at Abraham Watkins Today
At Abraham Watkins, we are committed to providing the highest standard of legal representation for injury victims in Texas. Our experienced team of personal injury lawyers has been fighting for the rights of accident victims for over 70 years, and we are dedicated to advocating fiercely on your behalf.
We offer free consultations and work on a no-win no-fee basis, so there is no risk to you. Our track record for securing fair and just compensation for our clients speaks for itself.
Don’t hesitate to get in touch today at 713-535-9319 to arrange a free consultation. We are here to help you get the results you deserve.