Some personal injury cases will be negotiated and paid outside court if the plaintiff and the defendant reach an agreement. However, insurance adjusters will try and trick you into signing off for a lower amount than what you deserve if you are not careful.
To protect yourself in such instances, work with an experienced personal injury attorney for advice and representation. Discuss your case today with an Atlanta car accident attorney to understand your options. It would also be best to have basic information on how to calculate compensation in car accident claims.
What is covered in the compensation?
Before digging deeper into the details, let’s first look at what the compensation constitutes. The law allows you to seek payment for economic and non-economic damages. They include:
- All medical costs: This means that you receive compensation for past and future medical expenses. If an injury requires different therapy and assessments, you should include these costs when calculating your total medical compensation.
- Property damage: This is the damage to your car and any other property involved in the accident.
- Lost wages: Car accident injuries are often devastating. Therefore, it is evident that you may not attend work for a few days and weeks while you are in hospital seeking treatment. The losses that result from missing work due to the injuries must also be included in the total settlement.
- Pain and suffering: This is a part of the non-economic damages in personal injury cases. The compensation covers the suffering you went through as a result of the sustained injuries. Therefore, the amount is more considerable if the injuries are severe.
- Future lost income: This covers losses if you require to change work due to the injuries suffered in the car accident.
The multiplier
It is now clear that compensation depends on the severity of your injuries. The multiplier method multiplies medical bills from the hospital with a constant between 1 and 5 to get the value for your pain and suffering.
It is the only challenging value basically because the rest are economical and have straightforward numerical values.
A lower amount of medical bills means that the injuries were less severe and that a smaller multiplier should be used. On the other hand, a substantial medical statement implies that the injuries were more significant, and a number nearing five should be used.
Protecting Your Right in a Car Accident Claim
You must protect your rights because you will be dealing with an insurance company. Companies try to reduce the amount payable or avoid paying the claim entirely because they are there to make profits. That is why you should work with legal advice from an experienced car accident attorney.
The lawyer will conduct further investigations, draft a demand letter, help you calculate total compensation, and handle any negotiations with the insurance company. It is effortless to go wrong without an experienced representation. Call our offices at 404-857-4124 to protect your interests in such cases.