Settlement Value of Kansas City Brain Injuries
As a brain injury attorney in Kansas City, I know that a traumatic brain injury (TBI) is always a frightening thing to experience, regardless of the circumstances or level of severity. This is because there are so many complications that can accompany even the most innocuous-seeming head injuries.
Because of the complexity and seriousness of head injuries, it is important to seek the help and guidance of an experienced brain injury lawyer. This is one of the most important things you can do to increase the value of a brain injury claim in Kansas and Missouri. Our personal injury law firm in Kansas City is ready to provide answers to your questions and guidance if you or a loved one has sustained a head injury as a result of another's negligence.
We can walk you through all the important information and considerations you should keep in mind when pursuing legal action or monetary compensation. If you want to get help now, just call our office at 816-203-0143 for a free, no obligation consultation.
One of the most common questions we hear from brain injury victims and their families is regarding the potential amount they may recover by taking legal action. Like most serious injury cases, this is a critical question due to the cost of medical treatment for brain injuries and the fact that these injuries can often result in permanent impairments that require ongoing care.
Below is a brief overview of factors to consider when trying to determine the value of a brain injury casein Kansas City or any where in Missouri or Kansas.
Types of Damages for Brain Injury Cases
As is the case with most personal injury cases, there are two basic kinds of damages that can come into play: special damages and general damages. The following will provide a brief discussion of each.
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Special Damages
Special damages refer to the kinds of losses that can an economic or legal expert can calculate monetarily. That is, special damages include things like lost wages (past and future), costs of medical treatment, lost earning capacity, and damages to property. What distinguishes these damages from general damages is that you can quantify them monetarily.
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General Damages
On the other hand, general damages provide a much greater challenge when it comes to assigning dollar values to them. For instance, it is actually impossible to determine an objective dollar value for things like pain and suffering, loss of familial and friendship ties, emotional suffering, and the like.
In order to assign any kind of monetary value to these damages, experts have to get somewhat creative. Just as an example, the amount and value ascribed to an injured person’s pain and suffering might be influenced by things like the amount of medical bills the victim has accrued.
Another factor in determining pain and suffering has to do with the nature and appearance of the injury. An injury that has caused the victim some level of physical disfigurement might lead to a significantly higher compensation for pain and suffering.
How to Calculate an Estimate for a Brain Injury Settlement
While we highly recommend that you seek the guidance of experienced brain injury attorneys, there is a method for you to come up with a rough estimate of the potential monetary compensation you might expect to receive for your head injury settlement. The process is as follows:
- Determine the total for all special damages. This step should not be all that difficult if you have kept quality, meticulous records of your medical treatment. It would be a smart idea to keep some sort of diary or log with associated documentation for evidence. You must also include estimates of your lost wages and other quantifiable financial losses.
- Determine the total for all general damages. This is the hard part, as there are no official guidelines on how to calculate general damages like pain and suffering. Some will say that, as a general rule of thumb, general damages tend to come out to some multiple of special damages. Of course, this can vary depending on the severity of the head injury and other factors.
- Calculate the total value of special and general damages combined.
- Adjust your total based on savings. That is, deduct from your damages total any expenses that you will not incur as a result of not bringing your case to trial.
- Compare your head injury case with jury verdicts on similar, recent head injury cases. This is an important step because it will provide you with support for your assessment. If you can point to similar cases and the compensation awarded to the plaintiffs in those cases, you will be able to make a much more convincing argument for your own damage assessment.
How Accurate Is My Settlement Value Estimate
This is simply too hard to say with any certainty. The fact is, there are so many factors that influence the settlement value for personal injury claims (e.g., number of at-fault parties, how clearly they are liable, amount of future medical treatment or lost wages, amount of insurance available, etc.), that the estimates you can come up with on your own will likely be flawed at best and way off the mark at worst.
Contact Our Kansas City Brain Injury Attorney
Your best option is to get a free consultation with a dedicated, caring team of legal experts. If you or a loved one has sustained a head injury in the Kansas City area, you should consider contacting our brain injury law firm as soon as possible.
Call our brain injury attorney today at 816-203-0143, for a free, no obligation case consultation. We help provide guidance on next steps to consider and answer your questions like the potential value of the claim.
If you are unsure as to whether a brain injury has occurred, download our free Brain Injury Checklist. This guide details the signs and symptoms to look out for and offers helpful tips on next steps to take.