What To Expect From A Personal Injury Settlement

If you are the victim of a personal injury accident and you win your case in court, you are entitled to a person injury settlement. The monetary amount of this settlement varies from case to case depending on the nature of your injuries, the amount of lost wages, the medical bills that were accrued, and the permanence of the injury sustained. More money is awarded to defendants who have sustained life-long debilitating injuries than it is to people with short-term minor injuries. A personal injury settlement typically includes, but is not limited to, compensation for medical bills, lost wages and car rental fees if applicable. The settlement may also cover attorney fees. Other monetary awards may be made to cover the pain, suffering and emotional stress resulting from the personal injury incident. The monetary values of these factors are determined by the court during the course of the trial. Once the personal injury settlement award has been made, a check is made out to both the defendant and the defendant’s lawyer. Both people’s names should be listed on

the check, so it is important for the defendant to ask for a copy of the check before the lawyer deposits it and makes payments to cover various expenses, just to make sure that the money is being handled properly and according to the contract that was put in place during initial meetings with the lawyer. Some attorney’s require that their fees be paid before medical expenses are paid, while others allow for their fees to be calculated on dividends left over after the settlement has been used to cover medical expenses. This procedure is stipulated in the contract drawn up between the defendant and his or her lawyer during the initial meeting when he or she agreed to work on the case.