A knee injury can have a profound impact on your quality of life. Some suffer from severe knee pain following a knee injury, while others may even experience permanent disability. Because of each case's fact-specific and wide-ranging outcomes, knee injury settlement estimates are highly contextual and based on several factors.
Since various factors may impact your settlement estimate, it is important to consult a New York personal injury lawyer immediately rather than determine the amount yourself; or enter into negotiations without good advice.
If you were harmed in an accident or sustained a knee injury due to someone else’s negligence or carelessness, call us to discuss your options; we can help you answer, “What’s a good settlement for a knee injury?”
Factors Affecting a Knee Settlement Assessment
The highly contextual nature of a knee injury requires the settlement assessment to hinge on various factors. The factors that may be crucial to your assessment may include, but are not limited to, the following:
- Medical bills, including ambulance fees, special equipment, and hired home assistance
- Lost earnings due to missed work, or vacation time taken
- Diminished future earning capacity due to prolonged injury or disability caused by the accident
- Pre-existing injuries
- Pain and suffering, which can vary depending on the extent of your injury
- Future medical needs and costs associated with those needs
- Negligence or recklessness of the other party
- Any shared fault
- Additional specific costs associated with the accident, including damaged vehicle costs
A few or all of these factors may be relevant to your knee injury settlement. Every injury and case is unique so your exact settlement factors could vary. In light of this, it is important to have a New York personal injury lawyer assess your claim and determine whether there are special factors you should consider.
A Balancing Act
A settlement is a negotiation and requires a balancing of interests. It is important to note that assessing a fair settlement amount requires the balancing of the parties’ interests, specifically:
- What is the defendant willing to pay the plaintiff; and
- What is the plaintiff willing to accept to forgo proceeding to trial
It is also important for the plaintiff to consider the likelihood that the defendant will be found liable for the injuries, and the potential amount that a jury might award if the case proceeded to trial.
Severity and Duration of the Knee Injury
When you’re wondering, “What’s a good settlement for a knee injury?” keep in mind that the more severe a knee injury, the higher the compensation. Correspondingly, injuries that continue for an extended period will yield a higher settlement amount. For example, a plaintiff suffering a fracture or torn ligament will likely negotiate a higher settlement amount than a plaintiff suffering from bruising or soft-tissue injuries.
Similarly, injuries treated by medical professionals will receive a higher settlement amount. Accordingly, you should seek ongoing medical attention throughout your claim.
Some long-term effects that may persist after your injury are arthritis, inflammation, and chronic pain. Any prolonged effects will impact the settlement estimate in favor of the plaintiff to account for the lost quality of life. It is important to monitor your injury - even a minor knee injury may have long-lasting effects or worsen over time.
Possible Liability
To value a settlement, the parties must consider the likelihood that the defendant will be liable for the injuries. If there is a low likelihood that the defendant will be found liable, the defendant will, reasonably, be less likely to settle the claim for a higher amount.
If there is a high likelihood that the defendant will be held liable, the defendant will be willing to settle the claim for a higher amount to avoid going to trial.
A big portion of this assessment hinges on the plaintiff's ability to prove that the defendant should be held liable. Accordingly, this will require a realistic approach, as well as realistic expectations.
Bottom Line
Every knee injury claim is different, contingent on the specific facts of each case. When determining what’s a good settlement for a knee injury, each case will differ depending on the facts and conditions surrounding the injury.
Each formula will take time to provide you with the expected settlement amount. A good settlement for a knee injury considers the stated factors and adequately assesses the defendant's potential liability at trial.
To obtain an accurate settlement estimate, it is in your best interest to contact a lawyer right away. Legal expertise is required to assess your situation and negotiate a settlement on your behalf.
Get Help Recovering Compensation for a Knee Injury
The higher the value of your injury claim, the more complex the negotiation becomes--and the more important it is to enlist the help of a New York injury attorney who can do all of the negotiations on your behalf. Whether your injury is due to a workplace accident, car crash, slip and fall accident or some other incident, a lawyer can make it much easier to obtain fair compensation.
If you’ve been injured due to someone else’s negligence or recklessness, the New York personal injury lawyers of Brandon J. Broderick, Attorney at Law, can help. Our experienced attorney team has recovered millions of dollars in damages for accident victims*. Contact us today for a free legal consultation.