Personal injury settlements can be your ticket to recovery after you deal with a serious injury that affects you physically, mentally, and financially. But, you probably don’t know how much to demand in a personal injury lawsuit. Thankfully, a personal injury lawyer from a firm like Redkey Gordon Law Corp can walk you through your options and ensure your rights are protected. 

Kinds of Damages You Can Recover in a Personal Injury Settlement

When you decide on the amount to demand in your injury settlement, you should consider your monetary damages first. In general, these damages come with a dollar amount attached that covers the costs incurred because of your injury. These include lost wages, medical bills, therapy costs, and related recovery costs. 

Then, you should also consider non-monetary damages like the pain and suffering that accompanied your injury. These damages are not easy to quantify and usually calculated based on the seriousness of your injury and the anticipated long-term effect on your life. 

What Could Reduce Your Settlement Amount?

Although settlements may seem like a big amount of money, much of it is accounted for when the settlement is reached. These include the following:

  • Medical liens. If you did not have the money to pay your doctors for the care you have received, your provider may have filed medical liens against whatever you can recover from your settlement to make sure your medical bills get paid for. 
  • Extra bills. While the settlement process stretched into weeks or months, you continue to get care, so your medical care bills continue to increase. Because such bills did not exist when you decided the amount to demand in the settlement, you would have to pay them out through the calculated nonmonetary damage.
  • Lawyer’s fees. When you hire an injury attorney, your contract with them includes the percentage of the settlement they will collect as attorney’s fees. Sometimes, attorneys will ask that the defendant pays for these fees. 
  • Other fees. When you file a personal injury claim, other fees can accrue. These include court filing fees, postage fees, and document fees for certified copies. 

Calculating Teg Settlement

When you put together your injury claim, you should get an attorney involved early. Your attorney will review any communications you had with the defendant and make sure you demand the full amount of compensation you deserve. 

When you calculate your settlement demand, consider your monetary damages. If you get ongoing care, your attorney can include a reasonable estimate to avoid short-changing yourself while ensuring you meet the filing deadline.