What Makes a Kentucky Personal Injury Case High Value?

Every personal injury case is unique. Some claims are small and settle quickly. Others involve severe, lasting harm. They take far more care and skill to handle well. If you have a severe and lasting injury after an accident, knowing the difference can help you protect your rights to the compensation you and your family deserve.

Satterley & Kelley, PLLC attorneys in Louisville get results. We have recovered hundreds of millions of dollars in verdicts and settlements for seriously injured clients throughout Kentucky. If you have questions about how you can obtain compensation for your injuries or the death of a family member, call us today at (855) 385-9532 toll-free or (502) 589-5600 locally to learn more.

What Are Damages?

“Damages” is a legal term for the past, present, and expected future harm you suffer because of another’s negligence, measured in dollars. There are economic and non-economic damages:

• Economic damages are costs that can be more easily added up because they are financial costs and lost income due to your injury. They include medical bills, lost wages, and damage to your personal property
• Non-economic, or general, damages cover everything else. They are losses that are harder to measure, such as physical pain and suffering as well as the emotional and psychological toll the accident and its treatment have caused

In rare cases that go to trial, you may receive punitive damages to punish extremely negligent, reckless, or intentional conduct. They are not meant to compensate you. They are to discourage the other party from doing this again, and send a message to others that their acts, or failures to act, are not acceptable to society and the courts.

What Is Considered a High-Value Lawsuit?

Opinions may differ, but generally, a high-value claim involves an injury that changes a person’s life forever or is fatal. It could involve brain injuries, spinal cord injuries, severe burns, or the death of a loved one. Issues often involve the following:

• Those injured may be unable to work or earn income at the same level in the future
• Accident victims may need multiple surgeries and years or decades’ worth of medical treatment and rehabilitation
• The person may need to cope with chronic and poorly controlled physical pain
• There’s also the resulting long-term psychological and emotional costs, including isolation, depression, and anxiety

A spinal cord injury, depending on the person’s age and the severity of the impact, could cost several million dollars over a person’s expected lifetime. A 2016 estimate of the lifetime costs of a patient’s treatment for a traumatic brain injury (not including lost income) is estimated to be from $85,000 to $3 million.

How Do High Value Cases Differ from More Common Injury Claims?

Most personal injury claims are fairly simple. A person gets hurt, sees a doctor, heals within a few months, and settles with the insurance company. They may suffer ligament strains, broken bones, and treatable internal injuries. The accident victim may be out of work for days or weeks but will return to the workforce. There may be no, or very limited, permanent limitations due to the accident.

Because more money is at stake, high-value cases work differently in several important ways, including the following:

• More medical proof is needed, often from several specialists and long-term care plans, not a limited number of appointments and hospital admissions. This documentation needs to be gathered and organized, sent to the opposing party for their review, and to medical experts for their input
• The responsible party probably has insurance coverage. The insurer will provide them with a legal defense. Because of the high financial exposure, the insurer will probably scrutinize every possible relevant factual issue to cast doubt on the insured’s liability or the damages claim. Their attorneys may create as many legal obstacles as they legally and ethically can
• More experts are involved, such as doctors, economists who explain how the injury will affect a person’s financial future, and engineers who will recreate the accident to establish what happened, why, and who’s to blame
• Skilled legal representation matters more to both sides. This means veteran attorneys will often get the help of less experienced colleagues, along with paralegals

The higher the value, the more pressure there will be on the parties. Given the high stakes involved, both sides normally compromise and reach a settlement to prevent losing the case at an unsuccessful trial.

Why Trust Satterley & Kelley, PLLC With a High Value Case?

As you can see, high-value cases need careful handling from the start:

• A thorough investigation must take place
• Medical records must be gathered and understood
• Experts must be retained and prepared
• Legal motions will be filed and responded to
• Insurance companies often fight harder when substantial amounts of money are at stake

Satterley & Kelley, PLLC attorneys know how to build strong cases, work with medical and financial experts, and stand up to large insurance companies. Our team focuses on complex and high-value cases. We not only know the legal and insurance issues involved, but we also understand what your family is going through and what it takes to fight for full and fair compensation.

If you have a high-value case, you need to trust your attorney to do everything possible to help your case, while keeping in touch with you, addressing your concerns, and respecting your goals and viewpoints. That’s how Satterley & Kelley, PLLC handles our cases and clients.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: What are damages in a personal injury case? A: Damages are the legal term for your losses measured in dollars. This can include medical bills, lost wages, and pain and suffering

Q: What makes a lawsuit high-value? A: A case is often considered high-value when the injury is severe or permanent, such as a brain or spinal cord injury, or when it involves the wrongful death of a family member

Q: Do I need a lawyer for a high-value injury claim? A: The higher your damages, the more that’s at stake in your case, the more you have to lose with a do-it-yourself approach. The insurance company will take advantage of the situation

Are You Severely Injured Due to Another Party? If So, Learn More About Your Rights

Satterley & Kelley, PLLC helps seriously injured Kentucky residents and their families get the compensation they deserve. Contact us to schedule a free consultation. We will discuss your situation, how Kentucky law may apply, and your best options for compensation. Call us toll-free at (855) 385-9532, locally at (502) 589-5600, or contact us online.