How Much is an Injury Claim Really Worth

If you're visiting our website because you've been injured in an accident, chances are you're wondering about the value of your claim. We've been practicing law for over 25 years. In fact, we've won over one hundred million dollars for our clients. How did we do that? Simple, hard work, being honest, and continuing to educate ourselves about injury law. As tenured Sacramento County Personal Injury Attorneys, we're used to clients who have lots of questions. It's normal that you hire an injury attorney because you want to get paid after an accident. You're going to have all sorts of concerns. From financial stress to worries about getting better, we understand your anxiety. So, how much is an injury claim really worth? It's a tricky question, let's try an answer it.

First and foremost, our website does not provide legal advice. If you want to obtain legal advice, simply call us at (916) 714-8200 to schedule a free consultation. In this article, we're going to discuss our opinions on the value of an injury claim. We will also address why things have changed in terms of injury settlements and laws. For those of you who would like to speak to an injury lawyer in Sacramento County, click here. Let's now take a look at how injury claims are valued.

Sacramento County Personal Injury Attorneys

Sacramento County Personal Injury Attorneys John O'Brien and Grant Zehnder are here to help after an accident. Our law firm has fought for the financial rights of injury victims for over 25 years. Mr. O'Brien holds a perfect 10 out of 10 AVVO rating and has won numerous awards for his litigation work. Injury Attorney Grant Zehnder has been recognized as a Rising Star by Super Lawyers and Mr. Zehnder was named recently named partner in the firm. While Mr. O'Brien and Mr. Zehnder are award-winning injury attorneys, they are much more than just successful litigators. Both attorneys are injury advocates who care about our community.

Our law firm loves to give back to Sacramento County. From dedicating time to local sports teams and schools to donating funds to charities and fundraising events, we give back. Why do we believe this is important for you to know? Simple, lots of other injury law firms look at clients as checks. Meaning they care more about the value of your injury claim than actually helping you. If your injury claim is complicated, or if it doesn't seem like it's a seven-figure settlement, other attorneys may turn your claim down. We don't act this way. In fact, we offer a free consultation. To us, the value of your claim is you and helping you recover after an accident.

Injury Attorney John O'Brien and his thoughts on Injury Law

The value of a personal injury claim is complicated. Compounding this are recent changes to injury law and settlement limits. So, how much is an injury claim really worth? Well, for starters, we need to analyze your accident. How do we do this? We meet in person to discuss your claim and the accident. By reviewing your accident and gathering information, we can better assist you. Our job is to fight for your financial rights after an injury. In order to do so, we need data. This way, we can help advise you and attempt to calculate the potential value of your injury claim. Here are Mr. O'Brien's thoughts on injury claim limits and the value of an injury claim.

What's Wrong with Capping Damages in Personal Injury Cases?

The debate over whether our civil justice system should be reformed has been pushed to the forefront with the recent swearing-in of the new administration and Congress. Setting limits on the amount of damages that can be awarded in personal injury cases is a familiar refrain by insurance companies and corporations who are held accountable in civil courtrooms every day across this great country of ours. As a lawyer on the front lines of representing people whose lives are often devastated by the carelessness of others, I can tell you that putting artificial limits on a jury's ability to dispense justice is not the answer.

Injury Claim Limits and Helping Accident Victims

Is our society too litigious? Are damage awards too high? Given the propaganda war waged by insurance companies and other powerful lobby groups, the knee-jerk response to these questions is usually, "Of course we are, and yes, jury awards are out of control." However, the truth is actually the opposite. Studies show that the number and frequency of civil filings have actually fallen nationwide in the last few decades. And what about the common perception that jury awards are escalating out of control? In a landmark study conducted by the Rand Institute in 2004, data from verdicts over the previous 40 years was analyzed to determine whether the "pessimistic view of runaway juries and increasingly generous awards" was in fact true. The study concluded that any growth in the average verdict was less than the growth of real income over that 40-year period. With respect to automobile cases, they concluded that the average award actually declined over time after controlling for inflated medical costs, which made up the majority of many of the awards.

Hiring an Injury Attorney and Taking a Case to Court

So, why is it important to let juries dispense justice with respect to the necessity and amount of the damages they include in their verdicts? The right to a jury trial is so fundamental to our Constitution that it is specifically enumerated in the Bill of Rights. The framers of our Constitution trusted the collective wisdom of 12 ordinary citizens infinitely more than the government to dispense justice equally and without passion or prejudice. Making all factual decisions, including the amount of just compensation for a grievance, is central to the jury's function. Taking that power away from the jury deprives a litigant of this fundamental right. A legislature that sets an arbitrary limit on damages is precisely the type of governmental interference the Seventh Amendment was designed to prevent. In my experience, the collective wisdom of a jury is about the fairest way anyone has ever conceived to settle disputes. Jurors tend to take their jobs very seriously, and by the time 12 people express their differing opinions and work through what justice should be in the case, the right result inevitably follows. And if it doesn't, the trial judge has the power to set aside a jury verdict if it's not supported by substantial evidence.

Call a Sacramento County Personal Injury Attorney

The next time you hear the argument being made that we should put an arbitrary limit on a jury's ability to dispense justice, put yourself in the shoes of someone who just lost a loved one due to a drunk driver or whose child suffers permanent blindness or disfiguring facial scars because an airbag deployed with exploding shrapnel. Is it really fair to set an arbitrary limit on what the jury can do to try and balance the scales of what was taken in each example? What if the limit was $250,000? $100,000? $10,000? All three figures are arbitrary and potentially a miscarriage of justice when imposed by a legislature in a vacuum in the absence of any facts. My faith is in the 12 people sitting in the box, not the 535 sitting in the Capitol.