How To Evaluate Vehicle Accident Lawsuits Involving Fractures And Other Substantial Injuries

One of the most typical variety of injuries sustained by victims of motor vehicle accidents are fractures. Fractures frequently occur to the legs, arms, pelvis, ribs, spine and skull. And with bone fractures ordinarily come several other injuries that can end in irreversible disabilities. Beneath we examine two published claims which involved fractures.

In one case a man was out along the side of a road walking his dog when he was struck. There was no sidewalk. The man suffered a fractured ankle. The man also sustained a ruptured spleen which brought on extensive internal bleeding and ended in renal failure. Consequently he will now need to undergo dialysis for the remainder of his life and making him a candidate for a liver transplant. He was just fifty-seven years old when the accident happened. The law firm that helped the victim revealed that a $2.5 Million settlement was reached for the victim.

The next accident occurred in an intersection where a vehicle that was legally in the intersection was hit on the passenger side by a second vehicle. At the time of the accident sitting in the front passenger seat of the vehicle that was struck was a forty-four year old woman. The impact resulted in fractures to her clavicle, to several of her ribs, and to her pelvis. Her bladder was lacerated. In addition, she sustained closed-head trauma. Medical treatment for her injuries came to approximately $85,000. Additionally her injuries prevented her from returning to work. Before the these injuries the plaintiff had been earning around $18,700 a year as an administrative assistant. At her age, this meant her lifetime earning capacity was lowered by more than $600,000 The motor vehicle insurance policy’s personal injury protection coverage paid $36,000. The law firm that helped the woman documented that they were able to obtain a settlement for $1.1 Million. An additional thirty six thousand dollars was paid out by the personal injury protection portion of the insurance policy.

A comparison of these two cases shows that they have a number of elements in common. The plaintiffs in these 2 cases both sustained multiple severe injuries beyond bone fractures. The injuries caused permanent disabilities. The injuries furthermore resulted in a loss of income or loss of earning capacity. Medical costs in many cases can reach tens of thousands of dollars or even more. Plaintiffs might further need future medical treatment.

Experienced lawyers know the way to take numerous variables into account including the number and severity of the injuries, any irreversible disability or scarring, the sum of past and future medical expenses for treatment of the injuries, the degree of lost income or loss of earning capacity, the kind of witness the victim and the driver will make, and even the history of other claim settlements and recoveries in the case's venue. Experienced atto
eys furthermore know to explore all feasible sources of recovery including not only the driver(s) but also anyone else who might have been responsible to the accident or be vicariously liable, for example, the driver’s employer.

In case of inadequate insurance it may be possible to tap into uninsured or underinsured provisions of any policies that cover the plaintiff. Under some circumstances it might actually be necessary to go beyond insurance policies to other assets. In the end a skilled atto
ey can make all the difference in the amount recovered.