Calculating Personal Injury Settlement Amounts

Calculating the correct personal injury settlement amount is not at all easy to do. It is really important that you do the math and that you know exactly how much your claim is worth. Unfortunately, this is not at all simple to do. There is no answer for absolutely everything you could suffer and in most cases, the amount is determined by what was awarded in the past.

In personal injury lawsuits, there are two main categories you need to be aware of when thinking about damages:

• Special Damages – These are the financial losses you suffered from the injury. The most common ones are vehicle damage and medical bills. Future special damages also apply. They include things like ongoing medical treatment costs and not being able to work.
• General Damages – This includes things that cannot be fully calculated, like emotional distress and pain and suffering.

Calculating Pain And Suffering

It is not that difficult to calculate medical costs and similar expenses you suffer from the injury. Usually, you just need to calculate medical bills and similar documents. With a little bit of due diligence, this is also possible when looking at how much money you will lose in the future because of the injury. However, when it comes to pain and suffering, this is not as easy to calculate.

For instance, let’s think about losing a limb. According to a Washington DC loss of limb injury lawyer, you naturally think about how much money you lose because you will not be able to work. This is very easy to calculate. But, how much money should be put on the fact that you will be traumatized by not being able to do what you used to do since you lost a limb?

In order to calculate pain and suffering, most people take all special damages and then they multiply them by a number between 1.5 and 5. Usually, cases end in settlements. Attorneys sue for a full amount and then they negotiate how much money will actually be received, which is the maximum amount that was actually calculated.

Future Earnings

We should also discuss calculating future earning losses. This is based on several factors like:

• Whether or not the injury prevents the victim from doing their job.
• The lump sum is more than what would be made in the career.
• Is it possible to retrain the plaintiff?

Determining loss wages is complicated. But, based on several things, it can be determined. Take the time needed to discuss this with the attorney as they will help you.

Final Thoughts

Personal injury settlement amounts are often calculated based on negotiations. Your attorney negotiates on your behalf and the insurance adjuster does the same for the party at fault. Based on several different things, you can obtain more or less. However, at the basis of everything we have proof.

Try to gather all the proof you can, even if you think it is completely irrelevant. You will thus be able to easily prove that you were negatively affected by the injury, together with how much money should be paid in the future. Never discuss the case with the insurance adjuster without the help of an attorney.