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The purpose of filing a lawsuit or demanding a settlement after a serious car accident is to ensure you get paid fairly for your financial and personal losses. A successful claim can also minimize the long-term impact of those losses as much as possible. Because every person’s experience of a car crash is different, every settlement in a successful car accident claim will also be unique.

The question of how much money you can get from a car accident settlement can be deceptively difficult to answer. The amount of money you get from your case may differ greatly from the amount another person would get through a similar claim. That said, here are some of the main factors in determining the payment you may get from your settlement. For more information, reach out to the seasoned car accident attorneys at Ostroff Godshall Injury and Accident Lawyers.

Determining the Value of Specific Losses

The severity of your injuries is the main factor in determining how much money you might receive from insurance or third-party settlement after an auto accident. The longer your injuries are expected to last and the more those injuries interfere with your personal and professional life, the more money you and your attorney can demand from a settlement.

For example, someone who suffers a broken arm in a wreck would need emergency room care and may have to go through several weeks or months of physical recovery while missing work. However, this kind of injury would eventually heal completely, so the injured person could only seek payment for short-term losses.

On the other hand, someone who lost their arm in a crash would likely need intensive medical care and therapy for years afterward. They may never be able to return to their old job and would experience physical and psychological pain for decades to come. Someone who suffered an injury this severe would need to recover for long-term losses, so they would likely have grounds to demand more money from a settlement.

How Much Money Will a Lawyer Take from a Settlement?

Anyone who gets help from a car accident lawyer while pursuing a settlement will need to pay them for their services. Depending on the attorney, this payment may be an hourly fee while the case is ongoing or taken from an eventual settlement. It could also involve a “contingency” model where the lawyer gets a set percentage of any settlement on an injured person’s behalf, but they get nothing if the injured person doesn’t get paid.

It’s understandable to feel hesitant about lawyer’s fees when considering a car accident settlement. However, experienced lawyers will factor their own compensation into the amount of money they demand on your behalf. Working with legal counsel is also the best way to ensure you get the most money possible for your damages. Filing a lawsuit without legal counsel will almost always end with you getting less money than if you work with an attorney, even after paying them.