Key Factors In Determining Injury’s Value

Someone that has been injured in an accident might ask a personal injury lawyer to estimate the same injury’s value. Experienced lawyers look most closely at 2 factors, before sharing their estimated value.

What type of injury was it?

• Did it cause a great deal of pain?
• Did it cause an appreciable amount of discomfort?
• How long did the pain persist?
• Did the treatment cause the pain to subside?
• Did it necessitate creation of a permanent change in the injured body?

—Any change, regardless of its size should be mentioned. Even a scar has altered the body in some way.
—It does not have to be a noticeable change. The human eye might not notice the implantation of a small device. By the same token, any evidence of the device’s presence might be disguised by clothing. Still, the person that was forced to rely on the same device would know that it was there.

Was it easy to detect with a simple diagnostic procedure, or did it take an intrusive examination to discover the injury’s full nature?

—Insurance companies expect discovery of a major medical problem, following an intrusive examination.
—Still, insurance companies realize that a simple x-ray can detect a broken bone.
__Insurance companies usually lump the cost of a diagnosis with the costs of the treatment.

What was the extent of the injury’s effects?

Did the injury affect the movement in some part of the body? If so, then to what extent was the movement affected?
Did the injury introduce an interruption to the victim’s daily life?

—Did it force the victim to spend more time sleeping?
—Did it force the victim to devote time for a special treatment, such as physical therapy (PT)? If so, how often did the PT sessions take place?
—Did the victim have to travel far, in order to obtain the prescribed treatment?
—Were there repeated times when people came to the victim’s home to help with treatment, perhaps to offer assistance with patterning?
—Had the mode of treatment forced the victim to sacrifice some form of enjoyment? For instance, had someone that loved to dive been given a ventricular shunt, due to accident-linked development of hydrocephalus?
—Had the injury caused the victim to deal with added expenses, such as the cost of special equipment, or adaptations in the home?

Had the prognosis suggested any future effects?

Had the doctor mentioned likelihood for certain complications?

Had the doctor indicated that further treatments might be necessary?

A “yes” answer for any of the above questions would provide personal injury lawyers in Grimsby with a reason for underscoring the value of the injury that had pushed a physician to give such a prognosis.