Legal Question in Personal Injury in Wisconsin

Re: personal injury

There is a big range of potential recovery, depending upon what your doctor says as to whether you will have any long-term residual problems resulting from your injuries. For example, some concussions can leave a person more susceptible to future injuries. Were you left with any scarring or disfigurement from your facial injuries? Do you still have neck discomfort? What were your total medical expenses? Did you miss any time from work or school because of your injuries? All of these considerations determine the compensation to which you are entitled. If you let me know the answers to the questions I have posed, I may be able to help you some more with your effort to determine what fair compensation for your injuries is.

Re: personal injury

Given your note about a toll booth, did your accident happen in Wisconsin? Was it in Illinois? Please be aware that there is a three year statute of limitations in WI and a two year status of limitations in IL. That means that you must either settle your claims or start a lawsuit prior to the expiration of the statute of limitaions. There may be other notice requirements depending on other factors in your case, that you would be best to discuss with an attorney. As to the "typical compensation," you should be aware that many factors dictate the value of a case, such as the amount of your medical expenses, the severity of the collision, whether you were wearing a seatbelt, whether you had lost wages (either paid or not), whether you were left with scarring or any disigurement from your lacerations or broken nose, the total period of time that you received treatment, the total period of time that you had pain and suffering, and whether you will have any future medical treatment or future pain and suffering from any long lasting problems. These are the factors which need to be considered by a qualified personal injury attorney in determining the amount of appropriate compensation and settlement.

Personal Injury--Evaluating the Value of a Rear End Collision Case

Unless you somehow caused the accident by, for example, stopping suddenly for no good reason, the opposing vehicle's driver (and potentially, his employer) would normally be liable for 100% of your damages. Determining the money value of those damages, however, is an inexact science. The true value of a case can only be determined with precision by a jury. Short of that, lawyers for both sides and insurance claims adjusters devote most of their energy to forecasting the likely jury outcome if the case were tried. Each side will settle only if the settlement offer is are within the "odds" as they perceive them; i.e., the range of likely verdicts based upon each party�s available information and experience in past similar cases (and minus anticipated litigation costs). Both sides conduct their own investigations, share chosen information, and engage in an extended salesmanship campaign designed to convince the insurer to increase their offer or to convince the plaintiffs to reduce their demand. If there is a meeting of the minds and both sides decide that the offer is within likely odds if the case were tried, the case settles. If not, the jury always gives the "correct" answer, by definition (although either side can get a nasty surprise in the process). Getting a case decided by a jury generally takes two to three years in most Wisconsin counties, so the �time value� of this delay also comes into the equation when deciding whether or not to start a lawsuit or settle out fo court. Insurers usually have vast amounts of data available to them as to verdicts which past juries returned in similar cases they have handled in the county where the case is brought--often more information than is available to plaintiff's lawyers. There is also a great variation in verdicts in different Wisconsin counties, some being historically more generous or stingy than others. It is therefore critical that anyone who is the victim of an accident have the case thoroughly investigated and evaluated by an experienced personal injury lawyer. A person trying to settle on their own will be at an extreme disadvantage, since he will have far less experience and knowledge in all this than either the insurer or an experienced local plaintiff's lawyer.