What is My Oregon Injury Accident Case Worth?

Unlike the fair value of a used car or house prices in a particular neighborhood, the amount that a personal injury case is worth isn’t readily available. There are no books or other tools that place a specific value on each case. Facts are too different in each situation to consider all cases alike. Instead, your attorney will evaluate and value your case individually.

Generally, a personal injury case is worth the amount of damages inflicted on the injured person. Some of these damages are fairly easy to calculate, including amounts for things like past and future medical expenses, lost wages, and lost earning capacity. Measuring other aspects of harm from auto accidents, falls, or other injuries caused by the negligence of others, however, is more difficult.

Oregon law allows the injured person to recover compensation for pain and mental suffering sustained from the time that he or she was injured until the present, as well as for the intangible harm that probably will be sustained in the future as the result of an injury. A person harmed by another’s negligent or wrongful conduct may also recover compensation for the past and future inconvenience and interference with normal activities that an injury causes.

Predicting likely amounts of these intangible elements requires careful consideration of many factors. Even the location of the courtroom where your accident case is tried can make a significant difference. The hundreds of thousands of personal injury claims that insurance companies have processed give them an obvious—and dangerous—advantage over an injured person trying to resolve his or her injury case fairly. An experienced personal injury lawyer is essential to making sure that you receive all of the compensation you deserve.