Virginia personal injury attorneys are often asked by clients ‘how much is my case worth?’ It’s not a simple question to answer. Although some damages can be worked out by tried and tested formulas, others are not so easily quantified. There is no such thing as a personal injury calculator in Virginia.
There are two main elements of a personal injury claim, economic damages and pain and suffering damages. A personal injury claim involves adding up past medical bills, future medical bills, lost wages and wages likely to be lost in the future. A pain and suffering element is added to the equation. The amount awarded for pain and suffering may exceed the amount given from the other losses. Virginia courts may also add punitive damages in some cases such as the worst instances of drunk driving. This is additional money intended to punish the at-fault driver.