How much for a knee injury in an auto accident?

by Anonymous
(USA)

The injured party's car was hit on the driver's side by an auto traveling in the same direction. Damages occurred from the driver's door to the gas tank opening. The injured party developed knee pain and difficulty walking within the first 24 hours. She went to her primary care doctor who sent her to an orthopedic doctor who treated the knee injury with pain medications and injections.

I'm wondering how much a knee injury from this kind of auto accident would be worth? Thanks.

Disclaimer: Information provided in your response is not formal legal advice, it is generic legal information and is based on the very limited information given in your question. You should always get a formal case evaluation from a licensed attorney.

ANSWER for "How much for a knee injury in an auto accident?":

Anonymous:

USA

Determining the value of a personal injury claim is complicated. There are several factors included in the computation of reimbursement for medical bills, and additional compensation for out of pocket expenses, lost wages, and pain and suffering.

The settlement for property damage is normally handled separately from personal injuries.

The amount of compensation for the knee injury is limited by the amount of insurance carried by the at-fault driver. From the facts you present we're unable to tell the state in which the injury occurred.

Many states have minimum policy amount requirements which can be anywhere from $10,000.00 dollars, and up. For example a policy may read 12,500/25,000/7,500.

This means the maximum amount of insurance available for the injury to one person is $12,500.00 dollars, $25,000.00 is available if there were two or more people injured in the collision, and $7,500.00 is available for any of the injured parties’ personal property.

The next step would be to add up any of the medical bills, referred to in the legal field as “Hard Costs”. Once accomplished all of the out of pocket expenses and any lost wages should be computed.

Once you have all the information you should decide what amount you think would be fair or pain and suffering.

The traditional method of computing a settlement demand would be to add all of the Hard Costs, and then to extrapolate that amount by an amount anywhere from 1 to 100x or more. For non-broken bone injuries, called “soft tissue” injuries the amount of settlements are not very high. The extrapolation might be 2x costs, or possibly 3x costs.

It just depends on the Hard Costs, the Diagnosis, and the medical Prognosis.

The medical Diagnosis from the doctor will identify the nature of the injuries. The Prognosis will identify the future effects of the injuries. The Prognosis, for instance may include a statement from the doctor describing the future limitations of the knee, the possibility of future knee pain, and possibly the amount necessary for a knee replacement or any other future medical surgeries or procedures.

Since laws change frequently and across jurisdictions you should get a personalized case evaluation from an attorney licensed in your state (if you haven't already). Find an experienced local attorney to give you a FREE personalized case review here.

Best of luck,

Law Guy

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