A popular inquiry by many potential clients of the Injury Lawyer Atlanta is how much a particular case is worth. Personal injury attorneys hate to answer this type of query. There is no way to accurately give a case valuation until a case has been fully developed. Events that occur after a case has started can dramatically increase or decrease the value of a case. In some instances, it may be difficult for good personal injury attorneys to mitigate the impact of damaging developments in a case. That is why injury attorneys are reluctant to give out case valuations.
First of all, every personal injury case needs to minimize the amount of negligence borne by the plaintiff. In some instances, the victim may have contributed to the accident. For example, a shopper that was injured in a fall may have partially caused the accident by being inattentive or by running in the store. This type of evidence can be found easily by video surveillance footage taken by the store’s security cameras. If partial negligence belongs to the plaintiff, that can cut the value of the case in half or even more.
Medical treatment can dramatically change the value of a case. For example, a victim that discontinues medical treatment for any reason may be considered by the defense as completely healed. That will reduce the value of the case since the duration of the injuries suffered by the victim is shorter. If the insurance company manages to show that the victim was faking some or most of the symptoms, that can really hurt the value of a case since potential jurors will have a hard time with the credibility of the plaintiff. That is why medical treatment can change the value of a case months or even years after the accident.
Finally, the ability or inability to gather evidence can dramatically affect the value of a case. If the Injury Lawyer Atlanta is hired months or years after the accident occurred, it may be very difficult or impossible to find evidence or eyewitnesses. If newly found evidence is turned up by either side, that can dramatically change the value of a case. It should not be surprising that injury attorneys hate to give case valuations at the beginning of the case.
