“How much is my case worth?” This is often the first question that any San Diego personal injury attorney gets when consulting with a prospective client. Clients often want to know exactly how much money they stand to win. However, this question is nearly impossible to answer accurately in the early stages of a case because too many questions are unanswered and depend on future events. There are some hints that can give you some idea.

Follow the Money

The first and easiest factor to calculate is how much your injury has cost you in dollars. Your San Diego personal injury lawyer will want to look at:

• The total cost of your medical bills;
• Any income or employment benefits, such as lost pay, vacation time used or insurance benefits, that you lost as a result of the injury; and
• Expected future medical costs such as ongoing treatment.

These are usually easy to provide medical documentation for and have hard numbers attached so that they should give you an easy baseline to evaluate your case's value.

Lasting Effects

Your San Diego personal injury lawyer will ask you how your injury has affected your day to day life. If you are no longer able to engage in sports or leisure activities, you can claim that your quality of life has significant declined. Has the injury left you with any permanent disfigurement or scars? Will you need extensive ongoing medical treatment in the future? Have you experienced any loss of consortium with your spouse? The more your injury has damaged you, the more your case is worth.

Legal Questions

Your case is worth only as much as you and your San Diego personal injury attorney can prove that you were not at fault for your injuries. If there is any evidence that you were even partially responsible, the value of your case will be reduced. Can you provide witnesses that the defendant was the only person who caused the accident? What evidence do you have? These are the key questions you need to examine with your attorney.

Thinking of talking to a San Diego personal injury attorney about your case? Call Attorney James V. Hairgrove at 619-667-3743.