Personal Injury Law: A Comprehensive Overview

Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Laws may vary by jurisdiction and change over time. Always consult with a qualified attorney for specific legal guidance.

You may have heard the tongue-in-cheek adage: “Accidents can’t be avoided.” Because most people, at some point in their lives, experience some sort of mishap in which they are injured, this old saying may seem to ring true. However, personal injury law is based on the premise that accidents can and should be avoided.

Personal injury law provides a legal process for persons who are injured in an accident (the “plaintiff”) to be compensated for their injuries by the person who caused the accident (the “defendant”).

This article provides a comprehensive overview of how a personal injury case works. Continue reading to learn more about:

Whether to file a personal injury claim;
The most common types of personal injury claims;
The difference between a personal injury settlement and a verdict;
How to prove a personal injury claim;
What a personal injury claim is worth;
What damages you may recover in a personal injury case;
The limits placed on recoverable damages;
How much a personal injury case may cost;
How long a personal injury case takes; and
How a personal injury lawyer can assist you after an accident.

What Is Personal Injury Law?

Personal injury law provides a legal means for an accident victim to seek financial compensation for any injuries or property damage they suffer in an accident caused, at least in part, by the fault of another party.

According to industry data, personal injury cases produced $57 billion in revenue in 2023. Every year in the United States, there are 39.5 million personal injury victims who require medical attention. According to the CDC, another 227,039 people die every year in the United States as a result of unintentional injuries.

Every state recognizes various types of personal injury claims that accident victims can raise to hold a negligent party financially responsible for the consequences of their actions.

What Are the Most Common Personal Injury Claims?

There are several types of personal injury claims that are commonly recognized in most states. These include:

Motor vehicle accidents (MVAs);
Slip and falls;
Medical malpractice;
Product liability;
Workplace accidents;
Dog bites;
Pedestrian accidents;
Bicycle accidents;
Premises liability;
Motorcycle accidents; and
Wrongful death.

With approximately 6 million accidents every year, MVAs are the most common type of personal injury claim and account for 52% of personal injury cases. Medical malpractice claims make up 15% of personal injury cases, and 5% of cases result from product liability claims.

For any type of claim, plaintiffs receive compensation through either a personal injury settlement with the defendant (or the defendant’s insurance company) or by obtaining a trial verdict that results in a money judgment.

What Is the Difference Between a Personal Injury Settlement and a Trial Verdict?

When a plaintiff files a personal injury claim with an insurance company, the parties will attempt to negotiate a settlement of the case to avoid going to trial. The defendant’s insurance company typically will make an initial offer to settle the case for an undervalued amount. The plaintiff, who often has medical bills and other expenses to pay, may be incentivized to accept the initial offer so as to avoid the expense and delay of a trial, which could result in a dismissal and leave the plaintiff with nothing. The defendant’s insurance company often is willing to pay a minimal settlement amount to avoid the risk of paying a significant jury award if the case goes to trial.

Because reaching a settlement has benefits for both parties, most personal injury cases (as many as 95%) settle before going to trial. According to the U.S. Department of Justice, only 4 to 5% of personal injury cases are resolved by litigation in court.

Is It Better to Settle a Personal Injury Claim or Go to Trial?

A study by the Bureau of Justice Statistics revealed that plaintiffs are successful in about half of all personal injury cases that go to trial. Auto accident verdicts favor the plaintiff in 61% of cases, while plaintiffs win verdicts in only 19% of medical malpractice cases. All plaintiffs should carefully discuss their options with their personal injury attorney.

Even if settling the case is the best option, the plaintiff should not automatically accept the insurance company’s initial settlement offer. Approximately 70% of plaintiffs who negotiate their claims obtain settlements that are more than $30,000 higher than those who accept initial settlement offers. Your personal injury attorney will be able to negotiate a fair settlement in your case.

What Do I Have to Prove in a Personal Injury Case?

To win a personal injury case, the plaintiff must prove that the defendant was negligent. This requires proving four things:

That the defendant owed a duty of care;
That the defendant breached that duty;
That the defendant’s breach of duty caused the accident; and
That you suffered actual damages as a result of the accident.

Proving all of these elements takes time, so you should contact a personal injury attorney immediately after an accident.

How Long Do I Have to File a Personal Injury Claim?

Every state has a law (called a “statute of limitations”), which puts a time limit on how long you can wait before filing a personal injury claim in court. In Colorado, for example, you have only 2 years to file a claim for most personal injury actions. For car accident cases, you have 3 years to file your claim. If you don’t file your claim within the required time period, you will be prohibited from bringing your claim to court.

Can I File a Personal Injury Claim If I Was Partly at Fault?

Yes. Colorado operates under a “modified comparative negligence” theory of liability. This means that a plaintiff can recover damages as long as they are less than 50% at fault for an accident. However, the amount of damages they may receive will be reduced by the percentage of fault that they contributed to the accident. For example, if, in an accident, a bicyclist is 30% at fault for crossing an intersection too early, the bicyclist’s total damages would be reduced by 30%. However, if the plaintiff bicyclist was 50% or more at fault, then they would not be able to recover any damages.

What Is a Personal Injury Case Worth?

Every personal injury case is valued differently. Much depends on the nature and extent of the plaintiff’s injuries. The same type of injury may affect each person differently. Your personal injury attorney will be able to assess the value of your claim based on the facts of your specific case.

A 2024 study of personal injury settlement amounts published in Forbes Advisor reveals that for all of the personal injury cases studied, the median award was $31,000. Half of all the personal injury plaintiffs recovered under $24,000 for their injuries. The median award for auto accident cases was only $16,000.

Some types of personal injury claims can produce significantly higher awards. For example, in the study:

The median award for premise liability cases was $90,000;
The average award for a medical malpractice claim was $679,000; and
The median payout for product liability cases was $748,000.

Depending on the nature of the case, some claims may result in judgments worth millions of dollars.

What Type of Damages Can I Recover in a Personal Injury Case?

In any personal injury case, a plaintiff may recover two kinds of damages—economic damages and non-economic damages.

What Are Economic Damages?

Economic damages are those costs and expenses that are definitive and have a determined value. For example, economic damages generally include:

Property Damage: This may include any personal property that was damaged or destroyed in a collision or other accident, including:
- Vehicle repairs or replacement;
- Damage to personal property (electronic devices, luggage, clothes, jewelry, etc.);
- Public or private property (road signs, bicycles, structures, trees, etc.); and
- Protective gear in a motorcycle accident.
Medical Expenses: All medical expenses and related costs are covered as economic damages, including:
- Ambulance services;
- Emergency room treatment;
- Diagnostic tests (X-rays, CT Scans, MRIs, etc.);
- All medical treatment (evaluations, surgeries, other procedures);
- Hospital stays;
- Prescription medications;
- Medical supplies;
- Follow-up care;
- Rehabilitative therapy;
- Counseling; and
- Pain management.
Lost Wages: If your injuries prevent you from returning to work, you may recover the value of your lost wages.
Diminished Earning Capacity: If you are disabled as a result of your injuries and are not able to perform the duties of your employment at full capacity, you may be entitled to recover for your lost future earning capacity.
Out-of-Pocket Expenses: Expenses associated with physical recovery and follow-up treatment (travel expenses, parking, over-the-counter medications, medical supplies, assistive devices, etc.) can be ongoing and can accumulate quickly. You should be compensated for these expenses.

Economic damages can be proven with:

Receipts;
Medical bills;
Invoices;
Written estimates;
Bank statements;
Tax returns; or
Any written document or resource that demonstrates a determined value for your costs and expenses.

What Are Non-Economic Damages?

Noneconomic damages are often more subjective to the individual and are not as easy to determine. These may include:

Pain and suffering: These can be associated with any kind of physical or emotional injury associated with your accident. For example, a person attacked by a dog might suffer painful physical injuries (this is a “dog bite” case), but also might suffer emotionally after the attack with an extreme fear of dogs (this is called a “dog fright” case). If you suffer physical or emotional injuries after an accident, you may be compensated for all pain and suffering associated with those injuries.
Physical impairment: If you are no longer able to participate in your normal daily activities as a result of injuries sustained in an accident, you may recover damages for this impairment. For example, if you were an avid skier before your accident but are no longer able to ski because of your physical condition after your accident, you may be compensated for this impairment.
Emotional distress: Emotional responses to accidents and injuries, such as fear, anxiety, or depression, can be debilitating and is compensable.
Loss of enjoyment: When an accident victim suffers a loss of enjoyment of life as a result of the negligence of the defendant, they may be compensated for that loss.
Loss of consortium: A serious injury resulting from an accident can have a significant impact on the victim’s relationships with loved ones. For example, if a plaintiff is unable to provide the same affection and companionship to a spouse that they provided in their relationship before the accident, the relationship may suffer. This loss of consortium is recoverable under any personal injury claim.

Because non-economic damages are more difficult to prove, you should consult with an experienced personal injury attorney to establish and value your damages.

Are There Limits to the Amounts of Damages That Can Be Recovered?

Many states place statutory limits on the amount of damages a plaintiff may recover for certain types of personal injuries. For example, in June 2024, Colorado passed a new law (House Bill 24-1472) which adjusted the limits or “caps” on some personal injury claims in Colorado.

In Colorado, beginning January 1, 2025, noneconomic damages in medical malpractice cases will increase to $555,000 (adjusted for inflation). These will increase each year as follows:

$550,000 in 2025;
$810,000 in 2026;
$1,065,000 in 2027;
$1,320,000 in 2028; and
$1,575,000 in 2029.

The presumptive limit for noneconomic damages in general personal injury cases will increase from $729,790 (adjusted for inflation) to $1.5 million (to be adjusted for inflation every two years beginning January 1, 2028). The new law also imposes a cap in wrongful death cases of $2.125 million, which also will be adjusted for inflation every two years, starting January 1, 2028.

How Much Does a Personal Injury Case Cost?

In most personal injury cases in most states, a plaintiff does not pay any attorney fees unless or until they obtain a settlement or win a verdict at trial. This is because most personal injury attorneys work on a “contingent fee” basis. This means that a plaintiff pays their attorney a fee based on a percentage of the award they receive from the settlement or judgment. Although there are always administrative fees and court costs that a plaintiff must pay, if the plaintiff does not win, they usually do not pay any fees to their attorney.

How Long Does a Personal Injury Case Take?

Depending on the nature of the claim and the complexity of the case, a personal injury case could take several months to several years to finish. According to the Forbes report, the average time to settle a personal injury case is 11.2 months from the time of the injury. The average MVA case settles faster than any other kind of personal injury case, with 50% of all MVAs settling within 14 months.

Here are some average time periods for settling other common personal injury cases, according to a study of personal injury statistics by the Bureau of Justice Statistics:

Motor vehicle accidents take 20 months on average;
Tort cases average 23 months;
Premises liability cases last 24 months on average;
Medical malpractice averaged 31 months; and
Intentional tort cases last 25 months on average.

No matter how long a case may take to settle or to go to trial, every personal injury case must be filed within the statutory limitation period for filing a personal injury lawsuit.

Do I Need a Personal Injury Lawyer to File a Personal Injury Claim?

It is not required that plaintiffs in personal injury cases are represented by an attorney, but having an attorney represent you in your personal injury case can be invaluable. An experienced personal injury lawyer knows how to:

Collect evidence at an accident scene (eye witnesses, road conditions, weather conditions, malfunctioning traffic signs or signals, police reports, etc.);
Prove fault;
Negotiate with insurance companies;
Value injuries;
Organize and present medical evidence;
Cross-examine doctors and other witnesses;
Present evidence to a court;
Settle cases; and
Collect money judgments.

Personal injury attorneys are skilled at negotiating settlements and presenting evidence in court. Because these are the two most significant parts of a personal injury case that affect your damage award, having legal representation from start to finish is a good idea.

In fact, aside from a lawyer’s skill and experience, just having a personal injury lawyer can significantly affect the outcome of your case. For example, an insurance company may be more likely to settle the case at a reasonable or higher amount if it knows that you have an attorney who is ready and willing to go to trial. One study shows that about 91% of plaintiffs who have an experienced personal injury attorney receive a settlement award, whereas only 51% of plaintiffs without legal representation reach a settlement in their cases.

Insurance companies also may be less likely to bully you during the negotiation process if you are represented by a zealous and knowledgeable personal injury lawyer who knows what to expect from insurance adjusters and understands how to value damages. Additionally, plaintiffs who are represented by a personal injury lawyer receive awards nearly three times higher than awards obtained by plaintiffs who are not represented.

Remember, while this article provides a general overview of personal injury law, each case is unique. If you’ve been injured due to someone else’s negligence, it’s crucial to consult with a qualified personal injury attorney who can evaluate the specifics of your situation and provide personalized legal advice.

FAQ: Personal Injury Law

1. What is the statute of limitations for personal injury cases?

The statute of limitations varies by state and type of case. For example, in Colorado, you generally have 2 years to file most personal injury claims, but 3 years for car accident cases. It’s crucial to consult with an attorney promptly after an injury to ensure you don’t miss these deadlines.

2. Can I still file a claim if I was partially at fault for the accident?

In many states, including Colorado, you can still file a claim if you were partially at fault, as long as you were less than 50% responsible for the accident. However, your compensation may be reduced by your percentage of fault. This is known as “modified comparative negligence.”

3. How much is my personal injury case worth?

The value of a personal injury case varies widely depending on factors such as the severity of injuries, long-term impact, and available insurance coverage. While the median award for all personal injury cases is around $31,000, some cases, particularly those involving severe injuries or complex liability issues, can result in much higher settlements or verdicts.

4. Do I need a lawyer for my personal injury case?

While it’s not legally required, having an experienced personal injury lawyer can significantly impact the outcome of your case. Studies show that plaintiffs represented by attorneys typically receive higher settlements and are more likely to receive compensation at all. Lawyers can help navigate complex legal procedures, negotiate with insurance companies, and present your case effectively in court if necessary.

5. How long does a personal injury case typically take?

The duration of a personal injury case can vary greatly, from a few months to several years. On average, personal injury cases settle in about 11.2 months. However, more complex cases or those that go to trial can take longer. Factors affecting the timeline include the complexity of the case, severity of injuries, and willingness of parties to negotiate.

Personal Injury Law: A Comprehensive Overview