When someone has filed a personal injury claim, the value of that claim gets based on the claimant’s medical expenses, along with the cost for repairing or replacing any damaged property.
Nature of medical expenses
• Bills from the treating physician
• Bills from laboratory that did testing of specimens
• Charge for emergency transportation
• Cost of medications
• Cost for time spent at rehabilitation center
• Cost for time spent with physical therapist
• Cost of special medical equipment, such as a wheelchair.
Losses that could affect finances
• Loss of income while the victim recovered from his or her injuries
• Loss of future income, if the victim’s injuries removed the expected opportunities for earning a living.
Did the victim need to undergo any form of retraining, in order to be assured of long-term disability benefits? If that were the case, then that fact would also get considered during a determination of the claim’s worth.
Forced changes in victim’s life
Pain and suffering; development of emotional or psychological problems, such as depression, anxiety or hopelessness.
Expenses related to necessary changes to home, due to the fact that the victim must now live with a permanent handicap.
Loss of enjoyment of life; this can be caused by the need to face pain or added challenges during performance of an everyday task, such as eating.
Cost of damages
• Cost of any repairs made to damaged property
• Cost for replacement of item that cannot be repaired. This is the market value of that particular item.
Another thing that factors into a determination of what a claim might be worth relates to the passage of time. Normally, the prices of products tend to increase over time. The cost of a given item before the accident was usually lower than the cost for a replacement. That fact must get considered during a determination of the claim’s value.
Keep in mind, too, the fact that a disabled person might not find it easy to shop for a needed item. Maybe the victim does not have a computer that is connected to the Internet. Perhaps it is hard for that same victim to reach a location with a Wi-Fi connection. All of those factors get considered during a determination of the claim’s value by the accident lawyer in Cambridge.
Any forced sacrifices?
Did the victim have to cancel a vacation, because he or she was forced to spend time recovering from the injuries suffered, as the result of an accidental occurrence?
Had the victim received a scholarship for a university or college. Was the victim’s ability to use that scholarship conditional on participation in a sports activity? Was the victim now unable to take part in such an activity? Those are the sorts of sacrifices forced on victims.
