If you have been involved in a car accident, the first question that may come to your mind is how much is your case worth? It is important to know that each car accident case is unique. No two victims may receive the same compensation.
How Can You Determine the Value of The Claim?
Multiple factors such as the severity of injuries, the time required for recovery, cost of medical treatment, can affect the claim compensation. An accident victim is eligible to claim for their economic damages, non-economic pain, and sufferings as well as punitive damages. The amount of settlement that they may receive would depend on:
Physical and Emotional Injuries: After your accident, you are eligible to claim for your injuries such as laceration, fractures, broken bones, loss of limbs, neck or brain damage, and so on. The amount of your claim would also depend on if you have also suffered any temporary or permanent disability. Along with your physical injuries, you can also pursue a claim against the at-fault driver for your emotional suffering such as stress, anxiety, trauma among others.
Loss of Income: Accident victims are usually eligible to file for salary loss and reduced earning capacity. If your accident injuries have affected your ability to complete your job resulting in either short-term or long-term loss of pay, it may affect the settlement amount.
Damage and Repairs: Your settlement amount is also dependent on the condition of your car, mileage and its value depreciation amount. When considering the compensation amount you also need to consider the cost you may incur in replacing any damaged car parts.
It is relatively simple to determine the economic damages you have incurred after your accident as it includes medical bills, salary loss, and vehicle or property damage. However, the non-economic damages include pain suffered immediately or that you would suffer in the near future, loss of consortium, loss in the quality of life, interference in your ability to conduct daily tasks, emotional anguish, and psychological sufferings. As these non-economic damages are subjective, it is difficult to put a number on them.
Insurance companies adopt various techniques to determine the value of your personal injury settlement. The total of economic damages is multiplied by a factor to derive the cumulative claim compensation. This method is not completely accurate since it fails to consider long-term costs and immaterial damages into consideration.
Importance of Hiring A Good Car Accident Lawyer
Once the starting point for your settlement negotiation is established, any new facts related to the accident can alter the compensation amount. By hiring a good car accident lawyer, you can ensure that you are better prepared to face the insurance companies. Most of the insurance providers have their own vested interests in mind and will try to undermine your compensation amount by applying complicated computer algorithms when determining the multiplying factor. This makes it imperative to have an experienced lawyer who has vast knowledge and professional training to help you understand what is your case worth. A seasoned lawyer can represent your case and talk to the insurance companies on your behalf to ensure you receive the settlement you rightfully deserve. The lawyers at Douglas and London have some additional information on how you can find out what your case is worth on their blog here: https://www.douglasandlondon.com/car-accident-lawyers-nyc/how-do-i-know-if-my-car-accident-case-is-worth-anything/
