Car accident settlements range from a few hundred dollars to millions of dollars. With so much variation in compensation, it’s difficult to say how much money you will get from your rear-end accident settlement. However, understanding the types of compensation can help you estimate how much money you should expect.
How is Your Compensation Calculated?
Determining your compensation isn’t as difficult as you might imagine. There are two basic types of damages. Once you calculate the first type of damage, you can estimate how much your second type is worth.
Economic Damages
Economic damages are expenses that can be calculated. For instance, you have records of your medical bills. Save your bills and add them up. Additionally, save your receipts from pharmaceuticals and medical equipment. Combine those expenses with your medical bills.
You should do the same for your missed wages. How many days of work have you missed because of your injuries from the accident? After you do the math, determine how much money you’ve lost on your paycheck.
Your economic damages also include future expenses. Therefore, you need to estimate the future cost of your medical expenses and missed wages. Keep in mind that doctor appointments will probably require you to miss work. You also might have rehabilitative therapy, which takes time and comes at a high cost.
Finally, there’s the physical damage to your vehicle. Whether your vehicle is totaled or just damaged, you’ll need to put money into it. Your settlement should include money for physical damages.
Non-Economic Damages
While economic damages are easily measured, non-economic damages are a little more difficult to calculate. These damages primarily refer to pain and suffering.
After your accident, you may never be the same. Permanent disability impacts both you and your family. Decreased quality of life and chronic pain are often experienced by car accident victims. Because of your rear-end accident, your life can suffer.
Fortunately, you are able to recover damages for pain and suffering. There are several ways to estimate this number. One common way is to take the economic damages and multiply it by a number between one and five. If your injury is minor, the value might be one. But a serious and life-altering injury could warrant a multiplier of five.
How Being Rear-Ended Impacts Your Settlement
In some accident claims, assigning liability is difficult. It might be unclear which driver was responsible for the accident and what percentage of liability they have for the incident.
However, rear-end accidents are usually straightforward. In most situations, the person who was rear-ended was innocent. There are exceptions for those who cut someone off or driving dangerously. But for the most part, insurance companies place the blame on the driver who rear-ended someone else.
For that reason, your settlement might not be too complex. A Claremont personal injury attorney will tell you more about your options for a settlement. Additionally, they can estimate the value of your settlement.
Do You Need an Attorney
In one year, 260 people were killed in Los Angeles car accidents. Claremont and other nearby areas are risky places for drivers. No matter how safely you drive, you could be in an accident.
You should work with a lawyer to seek compensation. If you go through an insurance company, they are likely to fight your claim. Paying you does not help their business. So, they look for reasons to deny claims and lower damage payouts.
By working with a personal injury attorney in Claremont, you get the tools needed to take on the insurance company. You can fight for what you deserve and get the funds you need to recover and move forward.
