Many cases are settled out of court without ever seeing the inside of a courtroom. When negotiating a settlement, the goal is to get the best deal possible. What makes a good settlement for brain injuries largely depends on the circumstances unique to your case.
Settlement in brain injury cases can be quite high, especially when the brain injury is permanent and debilitating. As with any settlement, the more severe your injuries are, the higher the settlement should be. Your attorney can help you go over numerous factors that might influence the outcome of your case, including compensatory damages, the duration of your injury, complications, and the defendant’s behavior. Negotiating a good settlement requires understanding what kind of evidence and leverage you have in negotiations. The defendant will likely try to keep the final amount as low as possible, and your attorney must help you fight to keep it high.
If you or someone close to you recently suffered a brain injury, call our Illinois personal injury attorneys of the Rhatigan Law Offices at (312) 578-8502 to receive a free case review.
What to Do if You Experience a Brain Injury
Brain injuries can completely alter the way you live your life. If you or someone you know suffers a brain injury, you must act fast to get both medical and legal help.
Call a Brain Injury Lawyer
Once you get medical help, which should be immediately, you should consider contacting a lawyer for help. Depending on how bad your injury is, you might be dealing with some severe, long-term complications. Brain injuries may lead to cognitive impairments that could affect your entire body and how you think. In serious cases, people who suffer brain injuries can no longer live independently.
An experienced attorney who knows how to handle claims related to brain injuries can help you get financial compensation from those responsible.
Assess Your Damages
After your injury, you and your attorney should sit down and thoroughly assess your damages. Medical bills are likely high up on your list of damages, as they tend to be very costly, especially in brain injury cases.
You should also consider various other economic costs, like lost income if you can no longer work. We should also account for any property damage that might have happened during the accident.
Your pain and suffering may also account for significant non-economic damages. Your entire life might change, and fulfilling career opportunities, hobbies, and relationships might be gone.
Beware Early Settlement Offers
When you begin settlement negotiations, be very wary of early offers. The defendant might try to offer a fast settlement in the hopes that you take the money and go, but do not be fooled. Your attorney should review any settlement offer before you accept it to make sure that it adequately covers your damages.
Good Settlements for Brain Injuries in Illinois
A good settlement is very subjective. What makes a settlement good is entirely up to you and depends on what you want to get out of your case. While everyone might have their own definition of “good” when reaching a settlement, there are some important things to consider with your attorney working one out.
Costs and Damages
First, a good settlement should adequately cover all your damages. The point of compensatory damages is to make a plaintiff whole again, at least in a financial sense. A good settlement should provide you with enough money to cover all the expenses you incurred because of your accident and injuries.
Severity of the Injury
Second, a good settlement should reflect the magnitude of your injuries. For example, if your injuries are so severe that you can never return to work, your settlement should reflect this huge change in your life. Not only should the settlement account for emotional and mental distress, but it should also account for the many years of income you will lose out on from being unable to work.
Likelihood of Success in Court
Third, a good settlement may be based on your odds of success in a trial. If you have strong evidence and a court victory is more likely, the defendant might be more inclined to settle to avoid a potentially staggering jury verdict against them. In such a case, you have more leverage for a better settlement, and a good settlement should be higher.
Important Factors That Might Influence Your Brain Injury Settlement in Illinois
Every settlement is different, and every plaintiff might have different wants and needs. To determine whether you are getting a good settlement, consider the following factors that might be implicated in your settlement negotiations. Review these factors with your attorney to get an idea of what your settlement should be worth.
Economic Damages
One of the main driving forces behind your potential settlement is your economic damages. These damages reflect the financial losses you would claim in a lawsuit. Knowing these damages’ worth might give you a jumping-off point for settlement negotiations.
If you know your accident and injuries left you with very high economic costs, your attorney can help you argue for a higher settlement. A lower settlement in this situation would not be good and should be rejected. Brain injuries tend to be severe and require costly, long-term medical care. As such, a good settlement will likely be on the higher side.
Before meeting with the defendant and their counsel to talk about a settlement, you and your lawyer should thoroughly review your economic damages. If you can reach a settlement that adequately covers these damages, it may be considered a good settlement.
Non-Economic Damages
Your non-economic damages revolve around injuries and losses that might not have cost you money but still warrant fair financial compensation. Generally, non-economic damages cover various personal experiences, usually unpleasant ones.
A brain injury might leave you with serious cognitive impairments that make your day-to-day life much harder. You might have to quit a once-promising career and give up hobbies you once enjoyed. It may also be challenging to maintain certain personal relationships, which can be distressing. All these painful experiences may warrant substantial compensation and a greater settlement.
Property Damage
Depending on how your accident and injury occurred, there might be significant property damage to contend with. Perhaps you were injured in a car accident and your expensive vehicle is now totaled. While your car might not be the most important thing on your mind after a brain injury, it should still be factored into your settlement, just like any other property damage.
Duration of Your Brain Injury
You should also consider the duration of your brain injuries. Some brain injuries, like concussions, might be painful, but they tend to resolve with time and proper treatment. Other injuries, like traumatic brain injuries (TBIs), might come with lifelong disabilities, both physical and cognitive.
A major factor in settlement negotiations is how long your brain injury and related complications persist. Essentially, the longer your brain injury affects you, the higher your settlement should be.
Brain Injury Complications
Did your brain injury come with any complications? Perhaps you have limited mobility because of your injury, or your cognitive abilities have been hindered. Many brain injury complications have catastrophic effects on the injured victim’s life. If you experience any complications, you should talk to your lawyer. Settlements in cases involving serious brain injury complications often see higher settlements.
The Defendant’s Behavior
What was the defendant’s behavior like when you were injured? In cases where the defendant’s negligent actions are extremely outrageous or malicious, punitive damages might be on the table. Punitive damages are meant to punish defendants for bad behavior, and they can be very significant, especially in severe cases involving brain injuries.
Even if your case is not eligible for punitive damages, the defendant’s hostile behavior or lackadaisical approach to the case might not sit well with a jury, and their odds of success at a trial might be low. In these cases, you have more leverage to argue for a higher settlement.
How to Negotiate a Good Settlement in an Illinois Brain Injury Case
The question of how to negotiate a settlement might get a different answer from different plaintiffs and even different lawyers. Your needs and wants may determine how you and your lawyer approach settlement negotiations. You should also consider your evidence and bargaining position. Those in better positions to argue for higher settlements might be more direct in settlement talks. You might need to compromise more with the defendant if you have less evidence and less leverage.
A good rule of thumb in settlement negotiations, especially those involving brain injuries, is never to accept the first offer. The defendant is unlikely to offer you what you need with the first offer. You may need to go through several rounds of negotiations before arriving at a good settlement. Sometimes, a good settlement cannot be reached, and your attorney can help you prepare a lawsuit.
General Ranges of Possible Brain Injury Settlements
While it is difficult to say what a good settlement looks like in your specific case, it may be helpful to consider some general ranges of settlements for different brain injuries.
Mild Brain Injuries
Certain types of mild brain injuries are so common that we sometimes forget they are brain injuries. For example, a concussion of a form of a usually mild brain injury. Such injuries may warrant settlements worth several tens of thousands of dollars or more. However, this varies based on the cost of your medical care, duration of pain, and other factors unique to your case.
Moderate Brain Damage
A more moderate brain injury may come with more serious and painful symptoms. For example, you might experience intense headaches, dizziness, memory loss, disorientation, and more. These injuries tend to last longer and come with more serious complications. As such, you should expect a settlement to be worth at least something in the low six figures. More severe injuries may warrant settlements of up to hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Severe Traumatic Brain Injuries
Traumatic brain injuries (TBIs) may be devastating and are usually worth substantial settlements. Victims might have severe cognitive impairments and face a lifetime of complications. Many such injuries are worth settlements of upwards of a million dollars.
Statistics and Data to Support These Brain Injury Settlement Figures
According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), the average cost of a brain injury per person can be quite substantial.
A CDC study estimates that the average cost of a fatal TBI is approximately $47,952 for a hospitalized patient and $5,052 for an emergency department patient. For non-fatal TBIs, the cost of care is even higher. For those who need inpatient care, the cost is approximately $51,241 with an additional $6,110 in lost income.
Remember, these costs reflect only the economic costs of medical care and lost income. They do not reflect the value of non-economic damages like pain and suffering. They also do not account for future medical costs for those facing long-term complications.
Frequently Asked Questions about Brain Injury Settlements in Illinois
Below are several questions that frequently arise in brain injury cases.
What Are Brain Injury Settlements Usually Worth?
There are so many factors in any given case that it may be difficult to determine an accurate average. However, serious brain injury cases are often worth a substantial settlement.
What Evidence Do I Need to Negotiate a Brain Injury Settlement?
When negotiating your settlement, come prepared with extensive medical records and medical experts to explain them. These may help you show how badly you are hurt and what your life may look like going forward.
How Do I Know if a Brain Injury Settlement is Good Enough?
What makes a “good settlement” also varies, but it should cover at least your current and future medical costs. Non-economic damages may drive the settlement up even higher, especially if your injuries are severe.
What Happens if a Settlement for a Brain Injury is Insufficient?
If you receive a settlement offer that you believe is insufficient, your attorney may help you reject it and possibly make a counteroffer. It is a good idea not to accept the first offer and be ready to argue for more.
When Should I Take Legal Action After a Brain Injury?
The statute of limitations may vary depending on how you were injured. General personal injuries, such as TBIs from accidents, must be filed within 2 years. Check with your lawyer about legal deadlines as soon as possible.
Who Can Help Me Get a Good Settlement for a Brain Injury?
An experienced attorney who knows how to handle brain injury claims should help you. Remember, personal injury law may cover various accidents and injuries, and you must make sure you have a lawyer who knows how to handle your case.
Call Our Illinois Brain Injury Lawyers for Help Negotiating a Good Settlement
Call our Chicago personal injury lawyers of the Rhatigan Law Offices at (312) 578-8502 to get a free, private evaluation of your case.
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