Money is often one of the first things on your mind once the dust settles following a car accident and injuries. You are likely struggling financially in the wake of high medical costs and a potential inability to earn any money because of your physical injuries.
Once you prove someone else was negligent and at fault for your crash, they assume a legal obligation to fully compensate you for your injuries. They will likely do this through their insurance coverage and potentially their personal assets.
The question is how much you deserve in compensation, and the answer is that the size of your settlement check depends on the nature, severity, and effects of your injuries.
The best way to get an idea of possible settlement amounts to expect is to consult a car accident attorney to assess your specific circumstances.
You Must Seek Compensation for Your Full and Unique Car Accident Damages
No car accident lawyer can give you an exact answer about how much to expect in compensation. If an attorney makes promises at the start of the case, find a different law firm, as this is against the ethical rules.
Likely, you have not even yet reached the point of maximum medical improvement where you know the full extent of your injuries. The parties may dispute liability.
Besides, your car accident attorney needs to do considerable work and research before they know how much you should seek in a settlement agreement. This calculation is not one they should rush, as you cannot afford to get wrong.
Your car accident compensation is dictated by one key bedrock principle: the responsible driver must pay you for all the harm they caused and not just for your physical injuries themselves.
Then, your compensation will also depend on the amount of insurance coverage that the driver had.
If necessary, your underinsured motorist coverage might have to supplement the other driver’s policy if they do not have enough coverage to fully pay for your injuries.
You Seek Compensation for Financial Losses and the Effects of Your Injuries
Generally, your car accident compensation will include both economic and non-economic damages. Economic damages pay you back for your financial losses from your car accident injury. You need to pay for medical expenses and property damage to your car. You may also be off the job while you cannot fully work.
Money is coming out of your pocket for bills and you might have lost income, making finances tight for many people. Economic damages represent past and future losses associated with your injuries, for bills and lost earnings.
As difficult as economic losses are to value, placing a price tag on your non-economic damages is even more challenging. By nature, non-economic damages represent how your physical injuries have intangibly affected your life.
For example, if you have suffered a broken leg in a car accident, there is physical pain you endure, possibly for months or longer. You may experience depression and anxiety from the effects of having to live with a broken leg for a considerable amount of time.
You may have had hobbies, such as running, that you may not do for the foreseeable future, causing you to miss out on enjoyment of life. You may have suffered embarrassment from disfigurement and scarring. All of these are part of your non-economic damages, and you can seek compensation for the effects of your injuries.
The insurance company often uses a convenient shorthand formula to calculate your non-economic damages, but likely will not reflect your actual situation. Their formula protects their own profits at your expense.
Your non-economic damages should pertain to you, and you are not an average claimant (no such thing actually exists). Your car accident lawyer should calculate how much your pain and suffering are worth, not an insurance adjuster who doesn’t understand your situation.
Punitive Damages
Punitive damages are one thing that will not be a part of your car accident settlement. Only a jury can award punitive damages in a car accident case.
Even if your car accident case goes to a civil trial, a jury will rarely assess punitive damages against the defendant in cases involving extreme carelessness or recklessness. Your car accident lawyer can assess whether it is worth it to pursue a lawsuit for punitive damages.
You Will Likely Have to Negotiate for Full Financial Compensation
Your car accident settlement is a product of intensive negotiation between you and the insurance company.
In other words, you have a say over the total amount of your settlement because you are not required to accept whatever the insurer offers, especially when the insurance company’s offer does not fully pay you for your damages.
You have the ability and right to negotiate with the insurance company. In fact, negotiation is exactly what they expect you to do. These negotiations should be in the hands of an experienced car accident attorney.
Hiring a Car Accident Lawyer Puts You in the Strongest Legal Position
The best way to maximize your financial compensation after a motor vehicle crash is to hire a car accident lawyer to fight for you in the legal process. You are on unequal footing with the insurance company if you try to approach them on your own.
The insurance company can steamroll you in the claims process, and they are in a much stronger position when you do not have legal representation. Insurance adjusters often push injured claimants into accepting much less than they need.
Your car accident attorney determines the true value of your claim. Then, they will negotiate a settlement with the insurance company on your behalf, either through the claims process or after filing a car accident lawsuit.
Your personal injury attorney provides the legal muscle you need to demand and get respect from the insurance company.
Seek your free consultation now.