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The value of your personal injury claims depends on several factors. Both your economic and non-economic damages will be factored into our evaluation of the value of your claim. To determine your economic damages, we will look at what you were charged for any medical treatment you were provided, if any medical treatment will be necessary in the future, whether you lost any wages as a result of the injury, and whether your ability to earn wages in the future will be impaired. We will also consider other direct economic losses as a result of your claim. For instance, were you required to miss or re-schedule travel which caused you to incur additional expenses?

To determine your non-economic damages, we must account for the following: any emotional distress and pain and suffering caused by the injury; any physical impairment or disfigurement; and any inconvenience you experienced as a result of the injury. These damage categories can be difficult to establish and may require the use of experts to help quantify. For instance, if you have received mental health counseling as a result of your injury, your mental health provider may be able to help explain the lasting effects the injury will have on you, thus helping establish a claim for emotional distress.

We must also consider damage caps, which are Colorado laws that prohibit recovery of certain damages over a certain dollar amount. Depending on your injuries, your spouse may be entitled to compensation as well. As a personal injury victim, you are also entitled to pre-judgment interest, which is an amount of interest which accrues from the date of your injury. In determining the value of your claim, our attorneys will consider your economic damages and non-economic damages, along with drawing upon years of experience to provide you with an honest and well-reasoned evaluation.

Another area of consideration is whether you were the cause of some of the injury. In Colorado, the person who caused the injury is entitled to argue that the victim of the injury is partially to blame. This is called pro rata liability. The argument that you may be partially at fault is an argument insurance carriers like to make. This is because if you are found to have contributed to your injury, your damages can be reduced at trial.

Understanding the legal theories surrounding pro rata fault is necessary to counter these meritless positions and to ensure you maximize the compensation you receive for your injury.

The length of your case depends on your circumstances. Has the insurance company from which you are seeking recovery denied your claim? Have you completed medical treatment for injuries related to the claim? Have you determined whether any future care will be necessary? Sometimes there are multiple insurance companies who may have some responsibility for your injury. This can lead to finger-pointing by the insurance companies and can delay resolution of your claim, short of filing a lawsuit.

The timing of making your claim or filing a lawsuit may affect the outcome and value of your claim. It is usually important to finish treating with your medical providers if your injury requires long-term treatment. Ideally, you want to be deemed to be at maximum medical improvement before you attempt to resolve your claim. This is important for two reasons. First, you know the full extent of your medical bills and can work to recover full compensation for those bills. Second, you are better able to determine whether your injury is permanent, and what future medical treatment you may need given the permanency of your injury.

Often, pre-litigation claims can be resolved within one to three months after you have finished treatment and a demand is made on the insurance carrier. The insurance carrier may request that you provide medical records for time periods prior to your injury, or, the carrier may request that you agree to an independent medical evaluation. An independent medical evaluation is conducted by a doctor hired by the insurance company. We strongly recommend that you not agree to these requests without seeking legal counsel first.

Although a majority of claims settle without the need to file a lawsuit, some claims will require that a lawsuit is filed. If a lawsuit is filed, the case may take one to three years to resolve. The resolution of a lawsuit depends highly on the court’s docket and the resolve of the insurance company to fight your claim. The Colorado Rules of Civil Procedure provide a series of deadlines once a case is filed. The deadlines allow each party to conduct discovery, which is a chance to take depositions (statements under oath) of parties to the lawsuit and any witnesses, if appropriate. This allows each side to evaluate the claims and defenses. Often times, the court will require the parties to attend a mediation and most lawsuits settle in mediation. If mediation is unsuccessful, however, then the case will proceed to a trial

We all know how expensive medical bills can be. Even if you have health insurance, your deductible might be thousands of dollars. Figuring out how to pay those bills can be exhausting. Personal injury victims do have a few options though.

If you’ve been injured in a car crash, your insurance may have medical payments coverage. This is often called MedPay. This will pay for your medical bills, up to a limit, regardless of who was at fault for an accident. Other types of insurance, like homeowners insurance, also may have MedPay coverage.

If you don’t have access to MedPay, your best option might be to set up a payment plan with your medical providers. Very often, if you’re making the agreed upon payments, the provider won’t send you to collections. In addition, some providers will agree to treat you in exchange for your promise to pay the bill when you settle your case.

A good lawyer will be able to talk you through each of these options and help you work out what’s best for you.

If you listen to insurance companies, they’ll tell you injured people don’t need personal injury lawyers. But the insurance company doesn’t have your best interests at heart. They’re only looking out for their bottom line. And trust me, they’re pros. If you’re injured, and you want to fight for the compensation the law says you’re entitled to, you need a pro on your side too. After all, you would have lived a very accident-prone life if you’ve made as many insurance claims as a personal injury lawyer.

Also, by having a lawyer, you let the insurance company know that they can’t lowball you and get away with it. If they lowball us, we can file a lawsuit and ask a jury to tell them how much your case is worth. Although you can file a lawsuit alone, it is not recommended, and an experienced lawyer will make it much easier for you.

Personal injury cases cost money. You have to collect medical records, police reports, and other documents. You usually have to pay for them. You also have to pay court fees if you file your case. In addition, you have to pay court reporters to take testimony. The biggest expense for these cases is usually expert witnesses though. To prove your case, you will have to pay doctors to testify. You may also have to pay for an accident reconstructionist or another sort of expert. Expert witness fees in these cases can run well into five figures.

So who pays these fees? If you’re injured, you have medical bills to contend with. And you may be out of work. Most injury victims can’t afford to shell out thousands of dollars to experts. That’s where a good law firm comes in. Personal injury lawyers are typically willing to advance the costs of a case for their clients. This means that you would be able to focus on your recovery and leave worrying about paying for your case to your lawyer. Because the costs of these cases are so high, when you’re selecting a personal injury lawyer, you need to make sure they are from a firm that is willing to spend the money necessary to prove your case. If not, you could get halfway through and be stuck with a bill you never expected. Because these costs are just an advance, you will have to pay the law firm back at the end of the case, out of the settlement, in addition to the attorney’s fees.

There are exceptions to this, though. If the lawyer doesn’t think the case is worth enough to justify spending money on an expert, he or she may not be willing to advance costs. Also, the lawyer’s willingness to advance costs may change based on events in the case. If new facts come out that lead your lawyer to think you may lose, they may not want to advance more costs. This is why it is important to have a good relationship with your personal injury lawyer. You need to have these conversations before the case begins. That way, everyone knows where they stand and who’s paying for what costs.