How do you know if your case is worth pursuing? You won’t know without asking.
How do you know if your client’s case is worth pursuing? You won’t know without asking.
I love getting calls about cases. I think it is interesting to hear the weird situations that befall people. If there is a case to be pursued, I listen for that. If not, I give the best advice I can and say thanks for thinking of me. Many cases are not worth pursuing because in the end they will not make the client enough money for the client to be satisfied. There is no reason to begin a case with a client if you know the result will not be satisfying.
Personal injury cases are very fact dependent. They all turn on little factual details and general areas of the law that apply to personal injury cases. As a client, you could not possibly know what a case is worth without some specialized knowledge of how “the system” values cases.
Here are some results from the past few years. Many of these clients had no idea that their case was valuable in monetary terms. They did know that they had been harmed by someone else’s negligence.
Vehicle Crashes
Car vs. Car crash with rotator cuff surgery: $330,000
Car vs. Car crash with rotator cuff surgery: $225,000
Car vs. Motorcycle crash with ankle surgery: $200,000
Truck vs. bus crash with single epidural injection: $80,000
Falls
Fall on ice with knee injury and replacement: $200,000
Special Situations
Oil Spill on residential property: $780,000
Carbon Monoxide Poisoning: $225,000
Falling tree injures bystander: $65,000
Dog Bites
Dog Bite on face: $300,000
Dog Bite on Face: $206,000
Recent results are presented as examples of firm successes and not a predictor of future results. Each case is different and each of the above cases had specific facts that made them unique. It would be unwise to evaluate your case based on the above without seeking legal advice on the strengths and weaknesses of your own case or situation.