Posts tagged: personal injury claims

Personal Injury Lawyer

You are looking for a personal injury lawyer or a personal injury attorney. Where do you start? We will give you a lay man’s introduction into the world of personal injury claims. Although out article is written by legally qualified people, you need to find a lawyer or an attorney to help you with your claim.

Table Of Contents

At the end of the article we will show you the easiest way to locate a qualified personal injury lawyer.

Make no doubt about it. Once you have made your choice you are generally committed to them for a long term. Changing lawyers mid claim is always a bad thing. Make the right choice, from the get go.

Several forms of claims can be made in personal injury cases. However, for a claim to be considered there must be a breach of a duty of care by another person. Such a breach must result in damage or injury. Generally, a personal injury arises either due to negligence, absolute liability, or intentional torts. [1]

This article helps you understand personal injury claims in the USA, UK, and Australia.

What Can You Claim For?

Personal injury claims are meant to alleviate psychological or physical injuries suffered. The claims can be broadly categorized into 2; material and non-material damages. The claims are similar in the USA, UK, and Australia. [2]

First, you can claim for monetary damages. Monetary damages include current and future loss of earnings as a result of an injury. The damages take into account pension loss due to stopped contribution. It also covers medical costs, travelling costs in seeking medication, funeral costs, and household services such as caregiver costs. Other costs covered include property damages, holiday enjoyment loss, and housing modification costs. [3], [4]

Secondly, you can claim for non-monetary damages. Non-monetary damages cover aspects of psychological injury. They include reputational loss, humiliation, pain, amenable loss (loss incurred by only being able to work in an alternative lighter job), and emotional anguish. The compensation for such damages is based on the jury’s evaluation and judgement. [3], [5]

Your personal injury lawyer or attorney helps you through this stressful process. They will make it easier for you to obtain the proper compensation.

What You Might Be Able To Claim For?

Some of the claims are not a guarantee. They vary on a case-to-case basis. You may claim legal costs and attorney’s fees to be covered by the defendant. However, the legal framework has placed limits on such payments. [6]

To avoid unnecessary costs, you may take advantage of the contingency fee plan; that is, payment of attorney fee for a win scenario only.

What Injury You Definitely Cannot Claim For

Some claims are not feasible within the legal framework, since they cannot be justified. You cannot claim for loss of earnings for an elderly pensioner or a housewife. Similarly, it is challenging to claim for an unemployed person. However, such people can still pursue other damages. [7]

It is absurd to make a claim for compensation in an unfortunate occurrence, whereby nobody is squarely liable for your injury. For instance, in an act of natural occurrence, you cannot blame anyone. This involves personal injury from natural phenomena such as earthquakes and storms. [8]

Additionally, you cannot claim the restoration of health. This is not feasible, and cannot be guaranteed by any law. Legally, you are entitled to the best treatment but a restoration to the original health status cannot be assured.

Size Of Claims For Named Injuries

The size of a claim for personal injury is based on the general principle of subrogation. This is an underlying rule, whereby an injured person is meant to be restored to their initial financial status before the damage.

The market share of the personal injury industry in the USA, UK, and Australia stood at $ 34.5 billion, $ 4 billion, and $ 2 billion respectively in 2019. The claim payments follow the same order in terms of amounts. [9], [10], [11]

The 2016 average UK settlement for Motor accidents was £ 2,673 and £ 3,946 for public liability. The mean for employers’ liability and medical malpractice was £ 3,994, and £ 3,760 respectively. Statistics show that 58% of all UK claims are below £ 5,000. [12] [13]

Medical Malpractice

In USA medical malpractice claims reached $ 4 billion in 2018. The average payout for medical malpractice is $ 300,000. The general average for all personal injuries is $ 52,900. Australia’s average payout is $ 20,000. [14], [15]

What Will A Personal Injury Lawyer Cost You

Traditionally, in the UK, a defendant found liable would compensate the plaintiff and then pay the legal costs and attorney fees. However, the 2013 legislation made a raft of sweeping changes. The legislation stipulates that attorney fees are drawn from the plaintiff’s compensation. It is capped at a maximum of 25%. Similarly, in Australia, the legal and attorney fees are recovered from the compensation to a maximum of 25%. [16]

In the USA, different states have different legislation on the legal and attorney fees charged. Generally, the charges follow the same rule of Australia and the UK; they are deducted from the plaintiff award. The charges range from 30% to 40% of the compensation. It is capped at 33.33% in Florida. In most instances, it is a contingency fee, implying that no charges for cases lost in court. [17]

How long Does It Take To Make A Personal Injury Claim?

In the USA, the duration of making a claim varies from one state to another. Generally, the claim period ranges from as short as 1 year in some states to the longest period of 10 years in Oregon State. There are 3 states with 1 year claim period namely Tennessee, Louisiana, and Kentucky. Many states give a limit of 2 or 3 years. [18]

In the UK, the average time for making a personal injury claim is 3 years. However, there are small discrepancies concerning specific injury case types. Trips or falls, workplace, and road accident claims involving motor vehicles, bicycles, and motorcycles should be made within 3 years. A criminal injury should be reported within 2 years of injury incident. Industrial disease and medical negligence have a maximum time limit of 3 years after knowledge or diagnosis of the problem. [19], [20]

In Australia, workplace injury claims should be made within 6 months. However, the period may be prolonged to 3 years due to unforeseen circumstances such as medical diagnosis. Motor vehicle and public liability claims should be made within 3 years of an occurrence of an accident. [21]

What Are The Success Rates?

The USA has an average litigation success rate of 54% for personal injury cases. The success rate of all cases including without trial is much higher at about 70%. This is because most cases especially those involving small amounts are settled amicably outside the justice system. [22], [23]

The success rate is highest in auto accidents at 61% and lowest in medical malpractice at 19%. The average is close to the auto accident rate since motor vehicle accidents account for a large proportion of all personal injury claims in the USA. [24]

The UK has an average litigation success rate of 63% in personal injury cases. Most of the cases are agreed upon before reaching the litigation level. Auto accidents have the higher rate of 80%. [25]

Australia has a lower success rate of 36% in personal injury cases. The low rate is largely due to the strict criteria and legal reforms aimed at protecting defendants against unreasonable demands. [26]

The success rates in the 3 countries align with the above market share statistics of the person injury industry. The USA with the largest market share has large payouts followed by the UK and, lastly Australia.

Conclusion

You can make monetary and non-monetary claims in instances of personal injury. However, you cannot make a claim for a natural calamity, whereby no one is responsible. Similarly, an elderly pensioner, or a housewife cannot sue for loss of earnings. In the USA, UK, and Australia, the average time to claim for a personal injury is 3 years. In terms of litigation success rate, the UK has the highest at 63% followed by the USA at 54%. Australia has the lowest rate of 36%.

Finding A Personal Injury Lawyer

What Is The Average Payout For Personal Injury

The average payout is not what you might think for a personal injury claim. It is not like what you see in blockbuster films. They are made for entertainment – even though they be true.

An average payout is likely to be in the region of 3,000 to 75,000. Admittedly this is a huge variance as it will depend on the claim. From that the personal injury lawyer may deduct a fee as high as 40%

References Used In Personal Injury Lawyer Research

1. https://www.injurylawcolorado.com/legal-library/tort-law-types.html
2. https://www.thebalancecareers.com/what-is-a-personal-injury-lawyer-2164350
3.   https://claimsadvice.com.au/personal-injury/
4.  https://www.truthlegal.com/what-can-i-claim-for-in-my-personal-injury-claim/
5. https://www.justia.com/injury/negligence-theory/non-economic-damages/#:~:text=Economic%20damages%20are%20compensation%20you,suffer%20because%20of%20an%20accident.&text=Non%2Deconomic%20damages%20may%20include,or%20worsening%20of%20prior%20injuries.
6.  http://www.legalaid.qld.gov.au/Find-legal-information/Personal-rights-and-safety/Injury-loss-and-compensation/Personal-injury
7. https://www.davidtoddlaw.com/blog/19-things-you-should-know-to-win-your-personal-injury-case.cfm
8. https://www.lexology.com/library/detail.aspx?g=387a346d-a535-4092-aafb-537ea1212c1a
9.  https://www.ibisworld.com/industry-statistics/market-size/personal-injury-lawyers-attorneys-united-states/
10.  https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20191018005391/en/United-Kingdom-Personal-Injury-Market-Trends-Report
11.  https://www.ibisworld.com/au/industry/personal-workplace-injury-lawyers/5519/
12.  https://www.thompsons.law/media/2344/weightmans-llp-an-analysis-of-the-uk-personal-injury-market.pdf
13.  https://www.ptcommunity.com/wire/personal-injury-uk-2019-consumer-research-report-claims-against-nhs-have-stabilised-last-three
14.   https://www.goddardlawwv.com/2019/12/29/average-medical-malpractice-payouts-in-each-us-state/
15.  http://www.appliedeconomics.com.au/pubs/papers/pa04_injury.htm
16.  https://www.quittance.co.uk/personal-injury/advice/no-win-no-fee/why-do-most-injury-solicitors-charge-25-success-fees
17.  https://www.justinziegler.net/attorney-fees/
18.  https://www.alllaw.com/articles/nolo/personal-injury/deadlines-file-lawsuit.html
19.  https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/law-and-courts/personal-injuries/
20.  https://www.spencerssolicitors.com/accident-guides/how-long-do-i-have-to-make-a-claim-for-personal-injury-compensation.html#:~:text=Adult%20Personal%20Injury%20Claims,which%20to%20bring%20a%20claim.
21.  https://www.owenhodge.com.au/personal-injury/time-limits-to-make-personal-injury-claims/
22.  https://www.bjs.gov/index.cfm?ty=tp&tid=451
23.  https://www.lawyers.com/legal-info/personal-injury/personal-injury-basics/personal-injury-how-much-can-i-expect-to-get.html
24.  https://www.personalinjurysandiego.org/personal-injury/statistics-of-personal-injury-cases-nationwide/
25.  https://shura.shu.ac.uk/691/1/fulltext.pdf
26.  https://law.unimelb.edu.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0007/1586977/38_1_4.pdf