Personal injury settlement amounts in Raleigh vary widely depending on many different factors, so pinpointing an average amount can be challenging. Keep reading below to learn more about how to properly value a personal injury settlement.
What Types of Damages Are Included in a Personal Injury Settlement?
Victims who are injured by someone else’s negligence may be entitled to recover a wide variety of damages. In fact, they have a right to recover compensation for all of their personal injury accident-related losses. This includes both economic damages and non-economic damages.
Economic damages provide compensation for the financial losses you suffered as a result of your accident or injury, including:
- Medical bills
- Lost wages and benefits
- Future anticipated medical care costs
- Diminished earning capacity
- Out-of-pocket expenses
Non-economic damages often make up a significant portion of a personal injury settlement and compensate victims for their physical and psychological trauma.
Common examples are:
- Pain and suffering
- Emotional distress
- Loss of consortium
- Depression
- PTSD
- Anxiety
- Diminished quality of life
- Permanent scarring or disfigurement
- Permanent disability
The more damage you have sustained, the higher your settlement amount is likely to be.
Common Factors Influencing the Value of Your Personal Injury Settlement
There are many factors that affect how much your settlement may be. The factor that often has the biggest influence on your claim’s value is the severity of your injuries. Cases involving only minor injuries usually have settlements that are much lower than those involving severe injuries.
In addition to your specific injury, there are also many other factors that can affect the amount of your settlement.
Many of these factors are:
- The total amount of your medical bills
- Your age and health prior to the accident
- How much time you missed from work
- Your average weekly wages prior to the accident
- Your expected future employment outlook
- How your daily life and close relationships have been affected
- The amount of insurance coverage available
An experienced personal injury lawyer can assess all the factors in your case to help put an accurate value on your claim. This is why hiring a lawyer to help with your case is always a wise decision.
How Insurance Coverage Affects Personal Injury Settlements
The amount of insurance coverage that applies to your accident can play a big role in your final settlement amount.
In North Carolina, drivers are required to carry insurance coverage of:
- $50,000 per person for bodily injury
- $100,000 per accident for bodily injury
- $50,000 for property damage
If you suffer serious injuries after an accident, your medical bills alone could easily exceed the required coverage amount of $50,000. These policy limits often cap how much a victim can realistically recover after an accident.
Imagine you are hurt in a car accident and suffer significant injuries. Your case could very well be worth more than $100,000 based on all your losses and damages. However, your recovery from the at-fault driver’s liability insurer could be limited to that driver’s available policy limits.
You could attempt to recover additional compensation from the at-fault driver personally, but your chances of success are not very high unless they have substantial assets.
Call Bello Law Firm, PLLC, for a Free Consultation With a Raleigh Personal Injury Lawyer
You may be able to recover compensation through a personal injury claim. The value of your settlement depends on many factors.
If you’ve been injured in Raleigh, NC, please call Bello Law Firm, PLLC for a free case evaluation with a personal injury lawyer or contact us online.
We proudly serve in North Carolina.
Bello Law Firm, PLLC – Raleigh Office
530 Hillsborough St Suite 200, Raleigh, NC 27603
(919) 884-0031
