What is my auto accident case worth?

Want to know what your case is worth?  I’m an attorney and I’m professionally incapable of giving simple answers.  But this brings up several issues that are worth discussing.

To be blunt, if this is your first concern, I might not be the best attorney for you.  Yes, of course, I want my clients to get compensated fairly.  And remember, I get paid a percentage of what I get for my clients, so of course I want to max that out.  But having said that, my best clients with the best cases are not primarily worried about what their case is worth.  They are worried about how they are going to get better, how they are going to pay their bills, how they are going to move on with their lives, simply how they are going to get through this.  In short, the value of your case is not the most important thing.

But at some point, it does become necessary to try to determine what your case is worth from a settlement standpoint.  That point is normally after you’ve reached maximum medical improvement, been released from care, and we have all of your records/bills, pain journal, lost wage documents, etc.  So we look at all of that, try to factor in some of the other issues – liability concerns, venue, some intangibles, etc. – and then go from there.

As I try to determine the value of your case, I look back to other cases I’ve had with similar facts/injuries to help me, and sometimes with the more wacky cases I’ll consult other attorneys to see what they think.

In short, there’s a way to figure out what your case is worth, but that shouldn’t be your main concern, especially at the beginning of the process.  Get some good advice from an attorney as soon as your accident happens, and the value thing should work itself out in the end.