What factors contribute to the personal injury settlement amount you will receive?

Here’s a simplified way to think about and calculate your accident costs so that you can determine what personal injury settlement you may get.

There are two types of damages: special damages and general damages. Special damages are easy to quantify damages, while general damages are more challenging to put a number to.

Special damages include: 

Medical expenses
Future medical expense
Property damage
Lost wages
Lost future income

These special damages all have a cost to them that are easy to add up.

General damages include: 

Pain and suffering
Lost parent

General damages are difficult to put a cost to. Instead, insurance companies often apply a multiplier to the special damages. This multiplier is typically between 1 and 5 with 5 being the most severe. Therefore each case is judged on an individual basis. The cases where the accidents had more lasting injuries and problems will have the higher multipliers. If the victim makes a quick full recovery, they’re multiplier will tend to be lower.

It’s important to also recognize other factors that can contribute to a case, including whether or not the victim contributed to the accident. If the defendant’s time is aware that the plaintiff, in part, acted recklessly, they may lower the settlement amount. Additionally, a gifted lawyer may be able to fight for a much higher than expected settlement simply based on their experience and negotiation skills.

Therefore, it’s important to consult with a knowledgeable and experienced personal injury attorney about your case because every case is unique. It’s important to learn about your rights and state laws in order to have the best chance at getting the compensation you deserve so you can get your life back to how it was pre-accident.

For more information, send us a message.