What Is the Average Personal Injury Settlement Amount in Louisiana?

After an injury caused by another party’s carelessness, many individuals and their families wonder: What is the average personal injury settlement amount in Louisiana?

While it is possible to look at the average value of settlements, you could be owed much more or much less in compensation, depending on your type of case and how seriously you were injured. By understanding these and other factors, you may be able to establish a potential fair settlement value in your unique situation.

Injuries, both fatal and nonfatal, can have significant costs. In Louisiana, unintentional fatal injuries cost more than $41 billion in 2023, according to information collected by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC).

Your Personal Injury Settlement

One of the primary factors that impacts your maximum compensation is how seriously you were injured.

For example, the medical bills for treating a minor burn will likely be much less than treating multiple broken bones. More serious injuries will also require you to take more time off work, increasing your lost wages. Worse injuries also tend to have a greater impact on your life, causing you more pain and increasing your non-economic damages, such as pain and suffering and a reduced quality of life.

Factors That Influence the Outcome of Your Settlement

While your injuries determine your maximum available compensation, you will not always be able to recover maximum compensation. Partial liability, legal limits on damages, or the willingness of the responsible party to negotiate are all potentially limiting factors in your claim’s value. Your claim could be impacted by:

• Supportive evidence. There are several elements you must prove to have a successful personal injury claim. This typically includes that the other party owed you a duty of care, breached that duty, and this resulted in the accident and your injuries. You must also prove the actual damages you suffered. If you can’t prove all these elements clearly, it can be harder to negotiate for a fair settlement.
• Insurance coverage limits. For some types of accidents, you don’t file your claim in civil court to begin with, but file with the responsible party’s insurance company. Your settlement could be limited by the insurance coverage of that party.
• Contested fault. In some accidents, the responsible party is very obvious. If it is not clear who was at fault for the accident, this can make it harder to secure your damages. The insurer of a potential at-fault party will likely be unwilling to negotiate unless evidence can make fault clearer. It may take significant investigation to uncover this information.
• Multiple at-fault parties. When multiple parties are partially to blame for an accident, they are each responsible for their portion of the damages. While these claims can be very complicated, they can also help you secure maximum damages. For example, if your damages would usually exceed the limits of one party’s insurance coverage, the remainder of the damages could be secured from another party.
• Comparative fault. You may also be partially to blame for the accident. If the court finds you partially liable under comparative fault, your damages will be reduced. For example, if you were 25% liable for the incident, your damages are reduced by 25%.

Your personal injury settlement is also significantly impacted by working with the right Louisiana personal injury attorney.

How Does an Attorney Impact Your Personal Injury Settlement?

There are several ways an attorney can change the outcome of your personal injury settlement, including:

• Investigating the accident to gather evidence and determine fault, making the insurer more likely to settle for fair compensation
• Calculating the extent of your damages and refusing to settle for less
• Building a strong case that makes success more likely
• Advocating against accusations of comparative fault, potentially limiting your fault, and increasing your compensation
• Negotiating with the insurer
• Taking your case to court if the insurer won’t settle for reasonable compensation

When you hire a personal injury lawyer, you are more likely to secure the most beneficial outcome.