The guiding principle in determining the amount of a monetary damages is “to put the injured party in as good of a position, as they would have been in, if the accident did not occur.” Most of the discussion, litigation and negotiations will operate around that basic principle. There are many factors that go into that process, we encourage you to contact our office for a free consultation.
Personal Injury / Accidents
Accidents are unexpected, inconvenient, and often involve life altering physical, emotional or employment implications. Signil Law Firm works to make sure your rights are not lost between mounds of paper-work, complicated legal jargon, unreturned phone calls and getting the run-around from insurance companies. If you have been in an accident in the last two years, please call us for a free consultation.
At SLF, we fight for the rights of those who have suffered a personal injury due to:
- Motor vehicle accidents;
- Defective products;
- Slip and falls;
- Any intentional or negligent conduct of someone else towards you;
We strongly encourage accident victims to not fall in the trap of accepting a quick, low-ball settlement offer from an insurance adjuster. Reaching out to an attorney is a very critical part of the personal injury recovery process. Every conversation you have with the opposing party’s insurance adjuster, can be used against you. We encourage you to allow SLF to fight and communicate on your behalf. We fight so that you can win.
Common Personal Injury Questions
What factors will be used to determine the amount of my damages?
While there are many factors, some of the more common factors are:
a. Medical expenses – current and future
b. Loss Earning Potential
c. Loss Wages – current and future
d. Emotional Impact
e. Property Damages
f. Loss of social, family and spousal relationships (loss consortium)
g. Punitive Damages – in some cases when the party who caused the injury acted intentionally, courts will add punitive damages to the award allocation to discourage and/or punish the party from engaging in such behavior
It took my friend/family member a long time to get their financial settlement, how long does it normally take before I can receive my financial settlement?
The length of time is takes to get a settlement varies based on several factors. The most common factor is the extent of physical injuries, and the length of time it takes before there is a significant physical improvement from those injuries.
Some of my friends have received very large financial settlements, and others have received not so large financial settlements, why is there such a big difference?
a. There is no universal standard to determine variances in monetary damages.
b. Some parties who wish to settle their claim immediately, are often willing to accept much lower settlement amounts because they need cash now. Other parties are willing to contact an attorney and allow the attorney to negotiate with the party who caused the injury. This process may take longer than if the injured party negotiated on their own. However using an attorney often leads to higher settlement amounts than if the injured party handled their case on their own.
c. The extent of physical injuries is a big factor. A party who has suffered a serious injury is likely to recover much more than a person who has suffered minimal injuries.
d. Who was at fault is also an important factor. Ohio recognizes contributory fault. (ORC 2513.33) When an accident takes place, there will be an allocation of fault amongst the parties involved in the accident. As long as the plaintiff’s percentage of fault is less than the defendants percentage of fault, the plaintiff can still recover some monetary damages. However, the plaintiff’s recovery amount will be reduced by their percentage of fault:
i. Accident One: The defendant is 51% at fault and the plaintiff is 49% at fault.
ii. Accident Two: The defendant is 100% at fault, and the plaintiff is 0% at fault.
The plaintiff will recover more in accident two because their fault was clearly less than the plaintiff in accident one.
There are too many factors that impact variances from claim to claim. I would strongly recommend calling our office for a free consultation, to get more definitive information about your case
Will my case go to trial?
a. The majority of personal injury cases are resolved before going to trial. It most instances both parties prefer a resolution outside of court.
b. There are some instances where the parties cannot reach a pre-trial agreement, and the matter goes to trial. Examples are disagreements concerning fault, damage amounts, pre-existing injuries as well as a host of other factors.
This was a high-level overview; I would strongly encourage you to contact our office for a free consultation.