Please, stop taking advice from non-attorneys. They may be nice people. Some of them may be friends. Very few of them know what they are talking about.
I went online today to see what was new in the world of personal injury that you might want to read about. I found some very interesting websites. None of them were from attorneys. Some of them gave very pointed legal advice. A few even tell you what your case is worth. These websites are dangeous, in my opinion.
How do you know when you can file a claim? Who do you contact? What is the statute of limitations? All of these are important questions, but you need the RIGHT answer. For example, even in a simple car accident, there could be more than one statute of limitations. It could be the “regular” statute of limitations of 2 years for bodily injury. But if the other car was a car driven by a government employee, it could be as short as 6 months. The only way to know, for sure, is to talk to an attorney and get actual legal advice.
As far as values, each case is different. Maybe you need surgery and your friend doesn’t need surgery. Maybe the driver in your case was drunk. Maybe you had to skip a marathon or half marathon because of the pain. Each case is different, each person is different. Thus, each case has a different value.
The internet is a great thing. There is a ton of great information out there. But, be careful. There is a ton of BAD information and WRONG information out there. When it comes to a personal injury case, talk to an attorney.