11 Jul How Are Personal Injury Settlements Calculated?

How a Personal Injury Settlement is Calculated

In most cases, if you are involved in an accident and suffer damages as a result of another’s negligence, you can turn to your auto insurance policy for compensation. However, what happens when you have incurred substantial medical expenses and missed days at work because of your injuries? In these situations, it may be necessary to file suit against the at-fault party. 

So, how are personal injury settlements calculated? Personal injury settlements are calculated based on several factors including the following:

• Value of Loss
• Location
• Nature of the Accident
• Duration of Disability
• Special Damages
• Attorney Fees
• Type of Lawsuit
• Type of Company
• Insurance Company

Although you may be tempted to accept a settlement amount that’s less than what you deserve, don’t give in to pressure from anyone or any company pressuring you for money. Remember that even a lowball offer could result in losing your right to sue later on down the road if it turns out the compensation is not adequate.

Negotiating a Personal Injury Settlement

In negotiating a personal injury settlement, you have two options: you can either negotiate directly with the insurance company yourself or bring lawyers into play. If you choose to deal directly with the other party’s insurer, make sure they are aware of how much time and effort – not to mention money – you have invested in your claim.

A lawyer may come in handy when negotiating a higher settlement amount than you would be able to get on your own, especially if you decided not to hire one in the first place.

Considerations When Calculating a Personal Injury Case

If you have been injured as a result of someone else’s negligence, it is important to calculate your settlement as quickly as possible.

Calculating how much money you can expect may be difficult for people who have never had to deal with a personal injury case before.

The amount of compensation will also depend on the state where you live and the nature of the accident itself. Nevertheless, most settlements follow similar patterns in that they are based on several factors, namely:

Value of Loss

This refers to the amount you have incurred because of the accident. You may not have necessarily lost something, but your injuries could affect your ability to earn income. In this case, you calculate how much time it will take for you to recover and calculate your daily wage that will be taken off.

Duration of Disability

If you cannot work anymore and are therefore unable to make money due to your injuries, companies with higher liability insurance coverage pay more again. Furthermore, if the company is negligent and caused permanent damage to your body or mind, they must assume all costs in paying for future expenses as well.

The reason why they should pay more is that it was unintentional harm brought upon them by the violation of rules or regulations by an employee working for the company.

Special Damages

This is the loss of property sustained as a result of the accident. It includes money paid to buy medication, your medical expenses, and rehabilitation costs.

Your Attorney Fee

Personal injury attorneys calculate how much time has been put into representing their clients. The longer their case takes up, the higher they calculate it will be in terms of what should be given to them as compensation or fees for their services rendered. Therefore, if these people know that there are more cases related to the same incident, they calculate how much these national cases are worth.

Type of Lawsuit

The type of injury you have experienced will determine what kind of lawsuit you file against the company or person at fault for your accident. For example, if there was a serious injury caused by an antibiotic, it would be considered as medical malpractice and therefore is different from negligence in general.

Type of Company

If the injury was caused by a small or large corporation, you would receive different amounts. This is because there are companies with higher insurance coverage and those that have lower to none at all. Therefore, in this case, it pays to sue big corporations as they can afford more money to pay what you deserve for your injuries and damages sustained in an accident.

State of Residence

The state where you live also plays a role in what amount of settlement you will get if you file a personal injury lawsuit against the person or company responsible for your injuries. In this case, states with high liability insurance tend to have higher settlements compared to states where there is no such thing as “fault” therefore, settlements are very low.

For example, New York has a state law for what is considered a low fault state. Based on this law, the maximum liability insurance coverage that can be paid is $50,000 per person injured in an accident.

Insurance Company

Finally, the insurance company responsible for your settlement will vary depending on what kind of policy you purchase and what kind of coverage they provide. For example, if you are covered by Personal Injury Protection (PIP) then Medicaid or another medical insurer should cover what you have not been able to claim from what PIP provides; however, if there are certain expenses not covered by such policies you would have to look elsewhere to satisfy your needs.

Workplace Injury

There are many benefits for people who get injured at work, such as Annual Leave is replaced with Sick Leave that can be used only when one gets sick for days. The other benefit of filing your claim while working is that the time off your job is paid.

Other Factors

Other factors that should be considered in calculating how much you will get from your personal injury settlement include where you live or work. For example, a person injured while on duty gets paid more than someone who was not working at the time they were injured.

If you were hit by a person who was intoxicated and driving under the influence, you will likely receive more money than someone who was in another accident.

If you find yourself in the middle of a personal injury lawsuit, contact Truskett Law! Our team is passionate about helping our clients receive the maximum benefits following their accidents. Call us today to get started!

Related Questions

What Amount Should I Ask for From My Personal Injury Settlement?

It all depends on what exactly has happened to you since it varies according to the type of injury you have and your financial situation. For example: if you are hurt because of a faulty product, where the manufacturer or distributor was aware of its defects but still sold it anyway, you should demand more than an individual who gets injured by someone who is not paying attention while driving.

Ideally, if you are hurt because of carelessness on the part of another person or company then there is no maximum amount to claim since it varies from state to state. Therefore, asking for a specific amount will result in getting less than that demanded.

What Can I Do If My Personal Injury Settlement Offer is Too Low?

The first thing you should in this situation is to discuss the matter with your lawyer. They can attempt to get a better deal or file a lawsuit.

On the other hand, you could try and negotiate directly with the insurance company. This will be much more difficult than negotiating through your lawyer because they are usually not willing to give out information about settlement amounts unless the lawyer asks for it.