How Much is My Claim Worth?

This is probably the most common question after "Do I have a claim?" asked by personal injury or car accident victims -- as well it should. Your injury has impacted your life in countless ways, perhaps limiting your ability to earn a livelihood, disrupting personal relationships, disabling you, or affecting your mental health. Still, the value of your claim may vary widely depending on the nature of your accident and who you choose for your legal representative.

We recommend all accident victims consider these questions:

1. How serious or disabling is your injury? It goes against logic, but the severity of an injury has a very different monetary value depending on who represents you in court. Insurance companies will seek to play down the seriousness of an accident while an experienced and skilled personal injury lawyer will help you get the fullest compensation you deserve.
2. How much are your medical bills? Having a solid paper trail gives your case much stronger standing if you have to go to court. Gathering the medical bills and projecting future lost medicals bills with the help of the doctors is the job of a competent lawyer skilled in personal injury.
3. Was the other driver clearly at fault under Maine law and the rules of the road? Whether the other driver was negligent will have a tremendous impact on the compensation you receive. You need a competent lawyer to IMMEDIATELY investigate the case, before skidmarks disappear and witnesses' memories fade.
4. Are you disfigured in any way from the accident? Scars and other disfigurements add to the damages you have suffered and, in the hands of a competent lawyer, to the value of your case.
5. Are you someone the insurance company or even a jury would find sympathetic? Juries, after all, are human, and the emotional effect of your story will impact how they determine the outcome of your case. Knowing this, insurance companies pay more to people whom a prospective jury would like.
6. How much is the other person's insurance coverage? If you have an injury worth $500,000 and the other driver had $50,000 coverage and no assets and you had no other uninsured coverage or other sources, $50,000 may be all that's available. At Hardy, Wolf & Downing, we have helped hundreds of people collect money over and above the amount of the other driver's insurance from uninsured/under insured motorist coverage, other potentially at fault persons and other sources. We never give up until every stone in unturned looking for the best result for our clients.

Contact our Maine lawyers today to learn more about what your claim is worth, or to schedule a free consultation.