Florida Law governs how much you should ask for in a personal injury case. The elements of damages that are recoverable under Florida law would include past and future medical expenses, past and future wage loss, and past and future pain and suffering. It takes lawyers years and years of experience in handling these cases day in and day out to come up with a feel for what a fair settlement should be in a particular case. The amount demanded and the negotiations need to be well thought out by an experienced personal injury lawyer.
The old rule of thumb, that does not always apply, is that the non-economic damage portion of the claim, for pain and suffering in the past and in the future, for example, should be a figure around but not less than three times the total medical bills in a case. This rule of thumb does not always work and sometimes someone is deserving of a significant amount of money for their pain and suffering but due to other unrelated reasons, has low medical bills. Every case is different and you should rely on an experienced lawyer’s opinion to help you determine how much to demand settlement of your personal injury case.