How much is my claim worth if I was a passenger in a car accident?

When someone is injured as a passenger in a car accident it can create such a time of uncertainty in many aspects of life. Questions like, will you recover, what treatment will you need, can you return to work, how long will you be without income or receiving reduced income can all be scary and overwhelming. It is therefore natural to want to know how much money you will be awarded for your claim.

Unfortunately, there is no way to give you a certain answer on how much compensation you will get for your injury. How much a car accident claim will settle for will depend on the unique circumstances of each case.

Once a settlement is reached in a car accident claim it is called a once and for all settlement. This means it is final and you cannot come back seeking further compensation relating to that matter at a later time. Therefore, it is important that all losses and, as best as you can predict, future losses be taken into account when you reach a settlement. In assessing past and future losses it is important that your injury is stable, that means it has reached the maximum medical improvement, a simpler term for this is that the injury has stabilised, it isn’t getting better and isn’t getting worse. If you are seeking legal advice before your injury has stabilised and been medically assessed, lawyers have no way of knowing the long-term impact of the injury and will not be in a position to give you that specific advice about the dollar value of the claim.

During a claim, lawyers will gather evidence about the impact of the injury and the associated financial losses and future losses and any expenses likely to be incurred. Each case is unique and must be assessed looking at that set of circumstances. Once they have this evidence, they will then be in a position to give you very specific advice about how much you would likely be awarded in compensation by a court.

A common question people have when contemplating making a claim for compensation is whether it is financially worth pursuing. There are two aspects to this, assuming you have a right to make a claim:

• will you be awarded a sum of money large enough to justify your efforts (in time and emotionally) and;
• will there be anything left for you after the lawyers and any Government refunds are paid?

It is common for lawyers to offer an obligation free assessment to look at exactly this issue. While all the medical evidence might not be available at this time and the lawyers can’t give you specific advice, they can make an assessment based on their experience as to whether it is worth pursuing. The personal injury lawyers will take your instructions and gather information about the circumstances of the accident, including: your injury, cost of treatment, medical prognosis, and the impact of the injury on your ability to work. This information will help the lawyer assess the merits of your case and whether it is one worth pursuing. The lawyers will want to be reasonably confident that your case is worth pursuing before they offer you a no win no fee agreement/ arrangement. It is then up to you whether you proceed or not or whether you seek a second opinion from another lawyer.

Learn more about legislation for car accidents in Queensland

https://www.legislation.qld.gov.au/view/html/inforce/current/act-1994-009

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