When you’ve been injured in an accident caused by someone else’s negligence, the liable parties are legally responsible for your medical expenses and lost wages, as well as noneconomic damages like pain and suffering. How much you receive depends on a variety of factors, including the circumstances of the accident, the nature of the injuries, and the skill of your personal injury attorney. Below are a few of the elements that will determine the amount of your final award.

3 Factors That Can Affect a Personal Injury Case

1. The Severity of Your Injuries

As a general rule, the longer and more painful your recovery is, the more you’ll likely receive in a settlement. Victims with bone fractures, head trauma, and other injuries that require long-term care will also typically receive more than someone with bruises, cuts, and other soft-tissue damage. If these issues are permanently debilitating, your personal injury attorney may pursue compensation for your future lost income, as well as the impact on your daily life.

2. Clear Liability

If the other party was clearly responsible for the incident, you’ll likely be able to collect the full value of your losses. However, Texas and many other states may diminish your award if you shared some blame for the accident. For instance, if a distracted driver causes a side-impact collision, but you were speeding at the time, the court may decide that you were 15% responsible for the crash. Therefore, if the total losses equaled $10,000, you would only receive $8,500.

3. Your Own Actions After the Accident

Unfortunately, your own actions after the accident can have a dramatic impact on the outcome of your case. Insurance companies may try to shift the blame onto you by disputing the facts of the accident or taking your own statements out of context. To protect the value of your claim, take photos and collect as much evidence as possible from the scene of the accident. Don’t speak to insurers without a personal injury attorney present.

If you or a family member has been hurt because of someone else’s careless actions, a personal injury attorney will fight to get you full compensation for your losses. From their offices in Texarkana, the Anderson Law Firm has been providing victims throughout east Texas and southwest Arkansas with the aggressive, effective representation everyone deserves. Visit their website for more on their wide range of services, follow the law firm on Facebook for additional legal tips, and call (903) 792-1229 to schedule your initial consultation.