How Much Can I Claim for a Head Injury?

How Much Can I Claim for a Head Injury?

A head injury can be minor like open wounds and bumps that can be treated using easy procedures. In other instances, head injuries may include brain damage, which could mean loss of memory, cognitive impairments and behavioural changes that can significantly impact on one’s living.

If you sustained head injuries after an accident, you will at some point consider what you should receive as compensation from the fault party. Voluntary settlement is more efficient and helps to save time for both parties because litigation comes with many costs and could take longer than expected. Calculating the amount of compensation for head injury may be daunting to some people, but with guidelines as shown below you are able to get to an approximate amount that is fair to both parties.

Special damages
Special damages could include economic losses. These are damages that can be assigned a certain amount of money for a substitute. Such include lost wages due to the occurrence of the accident. If you had to leave work due to the injuries, you are eligible for compensation to recover the number of days you lost due to the injuries. You will be required to prove your tax and pay slip as well as the number of days you were not able to go to work due to the injuries.

One can also lose earning capacity due to head injuries. For instance, after injuries you may realize you will no longer be in the right position to perform some duties you used to do, which could mean loss of income you used to get from the same duties. Your earning capacity in this case is diminished, and so you are eligible for compensation from the fault party. You are supposed to prove a link between your condition and the loss of capacity to earn as you used to before the accident.

Medical expenses should also form part of the list of items you will receive compensation for. This includes everything starting from the charges you paid for treatment to miscellaneous spending like money you used for consultation and to fuel your car so as to attend treatment sessions. The total compensation for head injuries should not be less than what the medical institution accepts to receive as payment after the whole procedure.

Pain and suffering
The fact that you have been put on prescription to take pain relieving drugs may convince the insurance adjuster that you sustained serious injuries. Since there is no standard measure of pain and suffering, they will use such prescriptions as a measure to gauge the level of compensation you are supposed to receive.

Other factors that can influence the amount of settlement
1. Liability
If the liability is clearly established, this could lead to higher settlement amount than when the liability is in dispute.

2. Multiple tortfeasors
If there are various tortfeasors, or if the individuals who caused the injury are revealed and represented by different insurance firms, there could be a challenge determining what each tortfeasor will pay.

3. Characteristics of the plaintiff
A plaintiff can also affect the value of settlement to a head injury case. The age and occupation of the plaintiff may be taken into consideration while looking at an answer to the right amount of compensation. Prior medical history will also be looked into to establish whether it was part of things that could have led to the accident.

4. Venue of trial
Venues are different, with some holding conservative procedures of dealing with head injury cases. In some cases, a lower amount is awarded to the case compared to when the case is held in populated areas where the amounts could be higher.