There is no average car accident settlement in Pennsylvania. Every case is unique, and factors specific to the case can affect the potential compensation that car accident victims can recover. For honest and straightforward legal advice – and for a free case review – contact Cousin Benny Personal Injury.
Why There Is No Average Car Accident Settlement in Pennsylvania
If you search for the “average car accident settlement,” you could find a vast range from hundreds of dollars to millions of dollars. This is not particularly useful information. What matters most is what your specific case is worth.
Every personal injury case is different. It involves different parties, facts, and circumstances. All of these factors can influence case value and how it is resolved. There is no guaranteed amount of compensation. In fact, it is against the Pennsylvania Rules of Professional Conduct for a lawyer to guarantee a particular outcome.
Additionally, personal injury settlements are usually confidential, so values may not be shared or published. It can be difficult to determine what other cases have been resolved for.
The best way to determine the potential value of your car accident case is to work with an experienced car accident lawyer. An attorney can analyze the specific circumstances involved in your case and use their knowledge of previous case settlement values to estimate the potential value of your case. Contact Cousin Benny Personal Injury today to discuss your specific situation in confidence during a free, no-obligation consultation.
Factors That Can Affect the Amount of Your Car Accident Settlement
Various factors can affect the potential value of a car accident settlement, including:
The Nature and Severity of Your Injuries
Generally, the more severe injuries that you suffer, the higher the potential value of your claim. For example, if you suffer a severe traumatic brain injury, your car accident claim would likely be worth much more than if you suffered soft tissue injuries, contusions, or lacerations. This is for various reasons, including:
- Your medical expenses may be higher, accounting for medical bills for emergency treatment, hospital stays, specialist visits, rehabilitation, physical therapy, and future medical expenses.
- More serious injuries often require longer-term medical care.
- Severe injuries can impact your ability to work and earn a living.
- More severe injuries can cause the victim to suffer permanent disabilities or impairments that negatively impact their quality of life.
- Serious injuries can result in substantial pain and suffering.
The Parties Involved and the Applicable Insurance Coverage
The parties involved in the case can also affect the case due to their assets and applicable insurance coverage. For example, if a regular driver is involved in an accident, they may only have the state’s minimum insurance amounts of:
- $15,000 for bodily injury per person
- $30,000 for bodily injury per accident
- $5,000 for property damage
- $5,000 in Personal Injury Protection (PIP) coverage
In contrast, if you were hurt in a truck accident, higher insurance policies may be at play.
In some cases, other parties may be financially responsible for injuries, such as an employer if their employee was working at the time of the case or a product manufacturer if the car crash involved a defective auto part. This can open up additional legal claims against parties that may have more resources than a regular driver.
Whether You Hire a Lawyer
According to the Insurance Research Council, injury victims who hire personal injury lawyers receive a greater amount of compensation compared to unrepresented claimants. Car accident lawyers focus on protecting victims’ rights while helping them avoid making decisions that could harm their case value.
The Strength of the Evidence
Ultimately, the insurance company has to have a reason to negotiate a fair settlement. It must be incentivized to want to avoid a trial in which it could be required to pay more money than it is willing to offer the claimant. Compelling evidence that could potentially increase the value of your case could include the following:
- Accident reports that state that the other driver was at fault for the accident or that a traffic citation was issued against the other driver
- Video footage that clearly shows that the other driver
- Witness statements that corroborate your version of events
- Medical records indicating that you have suffered a serious injury that is connected to the accident
- Reports from accident reconstruction specialists who visually recreate how the accident happened and why it is the victim’s fault
- Clear documentation of the damages you sustained because of the accident
How the Accident Has Affected Your Life
When car accident victims suffer catastrophic injuries, their whole lives can be upended. They may be unable to work or have to change to a less demanding job that pays less. The longer they are unable to work or the greater the accident’s impact on their career, the higher the potential value of the personal injury claim.
Likewise, serious accidents can disrupt victims’ lives in other ways, such as causing chronic pain, emotional distress, and anxiety. Victims have a right to pursue compensation for their loss of enjoyment of life based on these negative impacts, potentially increasing the value of the car accident claim.
The Defendant’s Conduct
In some situations, accident victims can pursue punitive damages against the defendant. While rare, punitive damages are sometimes imposed against defendants for particularly egregious behavior to punish them and deter similar conduct in the future. If the defendant is at risk of facing punitive damages, they might agree to a higher settlement amount to avoid this possible outcome.
Your Own Degree of Fault
Pennsylvania uses a comparative negligence rule. Under this rule, if you are found partially at fault for an accident, your settlement can be reduced by your degree of fault. For example, if you are found to be 30% at fault for an accident, your compensation would be reduced proportionately by 30%. However, if you are found to be primarily responsible for the accident, you can be barred completely from recovering any compensation.
An experienced attorney can help you estimate the potential value of your case, based on the factors specific to it.
Compensation That You Can Recover for a Car Crash
To understand what your case might be worth, it is important that you can identify and calculate the damages that you can recover in a car accident claim. You have the right to seek compensation for your economic and non-economic damages as part of your car accident settlement.
Economic damages provide compensation for direct financial losses, such as:
- Medical bills
- Ongoing medical treatment
- Future medical care
- Caregiver costs
- Lost wages
- Reduced earning capacity
- Property damage
Non-economic damages compensate for more subjective losses, such as:
- Physical pain and suffering
- Emotional distress
- Anxiety and depression
- Long-term physical disability
- Loss of enjoyment of life
An experienced lawyer can work closely with you to determine all of the damages that they can include in your legal claim.
What You Can Do to Increase the Value of Your Car Accident Settlement
Fortunately, there are several things that you can do to increase the potential value of your case. Unfortunately, some of these things may apply before you even have a lawyer who can advise you on these steps. Here is a brief rundown of the steps to take to protect your legal rights and the value of your claim:
Report the Accident
The insurance company can use any delay in the reporting of the accident as a reason to deny your claim or argue that your injuries were not serious. When you report the accident, a law enforcement officer can create an official report of it. During your interview with the police, stick to the facts and avoid speculating about how it happened. Ask how to receive a copy of the accident report once it is completed.
Document the Scene
Auto accident scenes are usually quickly cleaned up so they don’t impede the flow of traffic. Do your best to document conditions by taking pictures or videos with your cell phone, including:
- Road conditions
- Weather conditions
- Cross streets
- The position of each vehicle
- Nearby traffic signals or signs
- Your injuries
Ask for Information
Exchange information with the other driver. Also, ask witnesses for their names and contact information. Your car accident lawyer can follow up with them later to obtain official statements.
Seek Immediate Medical Attention
Seek medical attention immediately after the accident. This crucial step helps to protect your health, while also drawing a direct link between the accident and your injuries.
Reach Maximum Medical Improvement
Keep all of your doctor’s appointments. Follow up with your primary care physician and carefully follow your treatment plan. It may be months before you have recovered, but your personal injury lawyer will likely recommend waiting until you have reached maximum medical improvement. This is the point at which you have recovered as much as can be expected under the circumstances, and when it is possible to estimate the cost of your medical expenses and future care needs.
Assess the Full Extent of Your Injuries and Damages
Don’t try to settle your personal injury claim before you have a firm understanding of your injuries and their eventual impact on your life. You may need to account for future medical expenses, care needs, reductions in your long-term earning capacity, or a close examination of how your injuries may continue to affect your life for years to come.
Keep Good Documentation
Maintain detailed records of all of the following:
- Medical treatments, rehabilitation sessions, prescription medication purchases, health insurance statements, out-of-pocket expenses for medical care needs, and other medical records
- Lost income, including check stubs before and after the accident, a letter from your employer showing the time you missed from work and the benefits you used, and other income loss statements
- Property damage reports and repair estimates
- Receipts for bus, subway, train, or rideshare services that you had to use due to your vehicle being repaired
- Pain journals and other information that detail the daily struggles you endure due to the accident and your injuries
Don’t Talk to the Insurance Company
Even if you are dealing with your own insurance company, it is important to keep in mind that insurance companies are for-profit companies that rake in millions of dollars in profits by paying less in claims than they receive in premium payments. Insurance companies try to do everything possible to reduce payouts, even to their own claimants, such as:
- Making lowball settlement offers before an injured victim has the chance to consult with an experienced attorney
- Insisting on recorded statements, which they just use against claimants to point to inconsistencies, blame them for the accident, or minimize their injuries
An experienced attorney can handle communications with your insurance company so that you are not taken advantage of or pushed into a settlement that is too low.
File a Legal Claim within the Statute of Limitations
A lawyer from our personal injury law firm can ensure that your personal injury lawsuit is filed within the statute of limitations. This time limit is generally two years from the accident date. If you don’t file a lawsuit within this timeframe, you can be barred from filing it later on. Our personal injury lawyers work hard to protect our clients’ rights and secure compensation for their injuries.
Contact Our Philadelphia Car Accident Lawyers for a Free Case Review
If you were injured in a car accident, an experienced car accident lawyer from Cousin Benny Personal Injury can consult with you. We don’t worry about securing the average car accident settlement. Instead, we focus on securing the maximum compensation based on our clients’ particular situation.
We can explain the potential value of your car accident case after conducting a thorough investigation into the specific details of your case. Contact us today for a free consultation.
