How Much is Your Case Worth

Evaluating personal injury claims is a tricky business. In the past six years my firm, CapTran, has underwritten 10,000 requests for pre-settlement advances by plaintiffs. We have never had anyone tell us that their case was not a “slam dunk” or that they were not going to get a substantial settlement. We are always told the insurance company is going to settle quickly because their case and/or attorney are so good.

Our experience tells us - baloney!

Unrealistic expectations in personal injury law are a recipe for certain disappointment. Rarely do even slam-dunk cases get settled quickly for large amounts. Quite the opposite, slam-dunk cases usually involve serious injuries that require a long time to treat. Settlements are rarely reached prior to the victim achieving maximum medical improvement.

Hubris aside, everyone wants to know the real value of their case. Unfortunately, accident victims are often beset with self-appointed experts replete with stories and anecdotal evidence of huge jury awards. They know someone who knows someone who got a huge settlement for a back strain or “whiplash”. These influences do nothing but confuse the issue and most of the time has nothing to do with reality.

The truth is that, with the exception of the horrific paralyzing or disfiguring injury, most accident damage awards fall within a very predictable range. The National Transportation Safety Board reports that 3 million people are injured in motor vehicle accidents each year and insurance companies pay out nearly $20 Billion in bodily injury claims annually. The Insurance Research Council conducts a survey of auto claims every five years. The survey’s participant’s account for about two out of every three claims paid in the United States. In short, there is an enormous amount of data available to insurance companies regarding every conceivable type of injury and the amount paid to settle the claim.

Facts to consider

1. The average amount paid for a bodily injury claim is less than $10,000.

2. The amount paid varies widely by state.

3. Insurance companies are very wary of chiropractic treatment, especially if it is the only treatment.

4. Insurance companies are very wary of excessive physical therapy treatment.

If your attorney is experienced in personal injury cases he or she will know the range of values and the claiming behavior of insurance adjusters in your area. Our experience is that attorneys are prone to overestimate the value of your case rather than underestimate it. We urge you to listen to your attorney’s advice regarding claim value because it is unlikely that they will overestimate its worth. If you attorney is not experienced in PI cases - well, get another attorney.

That having been said, we offer the following thoughts that come from our experience. We have limited our comments to the most common type of case - motor vehicle accidents.

Factors to Consider

There are a great many factors that impact on the potential value of you claim. In order to determine whether (and how much) to invest in your case, CapTran