It depends on how bad your injuries (and your financial losses) are. Contrary to what most clients believe, the amount of money your case is worth has nothing to do with how wrong the other side was or how bad the other side drove (like a traffic fine would be). If you were not at fault, the amount of money your "case" is worth is based solely on how bad your injuries (and your financial losses) are (and nothing else).This means that the accident itself does not give you the legal right to be paid in your case (even if the other side was very wrong). Only your injuries (and financial losses) give you the right to be paid (no matter how bad the other side was). The only exception to this rule is when the other driver can be proven to have been drunk. When your doctor discharges you from medical care, tell us. Then, we will write to your doctor and we will order a special medical report (called a "final narrative" report). This special medical report indicates whether your doctor believes you are qualified to be paid for your injuries under a special Florida law. Before he or she writes the special report, your doctor will examine you to determine whether you have any injuries that did not completely heal during the preceding six to eight month treatment and healing period that follows your accident. (Injuries that do not completely heal by the end of the six to eight month healing period that follows your accident are presumed to be permanent and will, therefore, qualify you to be paid if you can prove they exist. Ex: an ugly scar). (Unless you were paralyzed, dismembered, or severely scarred) You cannot determine your eligibility to be paid in advance. If, during the final examination (which happens at the very end of all medical care), your doctor determines you have left-over, unhealed injuries, your doctor will "rate" the severity of those left-over, unhealed injuries (on a scale of 1% - 100%) by using a nationwide, standardized disability "rating" criteria (developed by the AMA) which is recognized and understood by doctors, lawyers, courts, and insurance companies. The more severe your left-over, unhealed injuries are, the higher the "disability rating" is (the higher the number is on a scale of 1% - 100%), and the more your case is worth (compared to other cases with lower disability ratings on a scale of 1% - 100%). The special final medical report also indicates whether and how your doctor believes your left-over, unhealed injuries will affect your home and work life in the future. Finally, your doctor's final special medical report will estimate the costs of any future medical care, if any (despite that insurance companies do not offer money for future medical care in settlement discussions). You will not be paid for your left-over, unhealed injuries until we receive your doctor's final special medical report and mail it to the other side first (because there is usually no other way for the other side to know if you even qualify for payment for any left-over, unhealed injuries in the first place, much less how much your left-over, unhealed injuries are really worth). (This special medical report may not be legally required to determine the narrow question of "whether" you qualify to receive payment for left-over unhealed injuries in certain extremely rare cases such as death, paralysis, dismemberment or severe scarring (because those conditions are always permanent and will, therefore, always qualify the victim for some amount of payment). However, even in cases of paralysis, dismemberment (loss of an arm or leg) or severe scarring, the special medical report is still necessary anyway to determine the question of how much those left-over, unhealed injuries are worth).

Other factors that affect how much your case is worth include:

1. what medical diagnostic tests (such as any MRI or X-ray scan) reveal about the existence and severity of any left-over, unhealed injuries (and more importantly, what a jury would see as "Exhibit A" at any future trial as proof of the existence, or absence of a qualifying permanent injury that would qualify you for payment);
   
   
2. any absences from your doctor appointments or "gaps" in treatment (indicating how severe (or minor) you believe your injuries really are);
   
   
3. the existence of any prior accidents (which may suggest that the accident was not the only possible cause of your injuries and which sometimes make it difficult to prove which injuries are "new" and which injuries are "old");
   
   
4. how much vehicle damage was done to the vehicle you were in (reflecting the severity of the impact that you endured which relates to the question of whether that impact could have caused a life-long, permanent injury and whether that "cause and effect" relationship is believable based on the amount of vehicle damage to the vehicle you were in);
   
   
5. the medical credentials, experience, credibility and reputation of your doctor (chiropractor? osteopath? medical doctor? practicing orthopaedic surgeon?);
   
   
6. whether you underwent invasive therapy such as surgery or pain block (epidural) injections, active therapy such as physical therapy, "passive" therapy (such as ultrasound, electronic muscle stimulation, massage, chiropractic), or alternativetherapy (such as acupuncture, meridia therapy, aroma therapy);
   
   
7. whether your doctor believed your injuries were severe enough to prescribe you medication (anti-inflammatories, muscle relaxers, pain killers or other medication);
   
   
8. the average jury awards in the county were the accident occurred, for cases with injuries like yours; and
   
   TWO THINGS THAT NEVER AFFECT THE VALUE OF YOUR CASE
   
   
9. contrary to what many clients believe, the other side doesnot make their "offers" to you based on the amount of money we "demand" (which the other side knows is always inflated).
   
   
10. contrary to what most clients believe, the amount of available insurance CAN NEVER increase what your case is worth, but it can determine the maximum you can ever actually receive for your case, regardless of what it is really worth. Simplified, the amount of available insurance will never result in you getting more than your case is really worth. But, the amount of available insurance frequently results in you getting less than your case is really worth. See paragraph #84.