- Story Highlights:
After an accident, expenses such as lost wages, medical bills, and ongoing treatment can start to add up. If you have been injured in an auto accident and the other driver is at fault, you deserve to have fair compensation to cover these financial losses. However, if you just settle with the insurance company for whatever they offer, you may be missing out on money you deserve. Keep in mind the at fault driver’s insurance adjuster’s primary goal is to protect their employer’s interests by getting you to settle for the least amount possible. So they will not cover all the real costs of an accident such as your pain and suffering.
Why Should I Hire An Attorney After An Accident?
By hiring an attorney, you are making sure someone qualified is looking after your best interests. An attorney who specializes in auto accidents will fight to ensure you all of your expenses are covered. In addition to getting the compensation you deserve, the stress of dealing with the insurance company is greatly reduced when you work with an attorney. Once you hire an attorney, all communication will go through them. This allows you to focus on healing from your injuries and rebuilding your life.
How Will My Lawyer Determine Costs?
One of the first things your attorney and their team will do is establish what damages you have incurred from your injuries. Damages include both tangible and intangible things, such as:
● Lost wages
● Future earnings
● Any medical costs incurred as a result of the accident
● Property damage
● Loss of services and support
● Pain and suffering
The amount of each damage is determined by the specifics of your accident. Tangible expenses like medical bills, lost wages, and property damage will be pretty clear cut. However, for the intangible costs such as pain and suffering, it gets a little more complicated.
What is “Pain and Suffering?”
Pain and suffering refers to the many different injuries that you may suffer as a result of your accident. It is not just the physical pain, but also the emotional and psychological pain and trauma. It covers the worry, fears, the loss of enjoyment of life, and even how it affects your relationship with others. Unless you obtain the services of an attorney, the guilty party’s insurance company will not provide for you with compensation for these intangibles.
How Do They Determine Pain and Suffering?
While medical costs and lost wages are easy to determine, pain and suffering is not. Most attorneys use one of two methods.
● The Multiplier Method: This is one of the most common methods. Once your attorney has compiled all the costs, they will usually take the lost earnings and medical bills and traditionally multiply them by three. For example, your medical bills run 60,000.00 and your lost wages are 10,000.00, your attorney would take the total of 70,000.00 times three and get 210,000.00. This is not a guarantee you will get that amount but a starting point for the negotiations.
● Daily Rate Method: This method uses a daily rate to determine your pain and suffering. This rate usually relies on daily income and is then multiplied by the time you were seeing doctors or out of work. For example, if you earn $100.00 per day and you are unable to work your full duties for three months, the damages would be 90 days times $100.00 or $9,000.00.
Your attorney will recommend which method will be best for you.
If you’ve been injured, give the attorneys at Justice Pays a call. We’ll go over how we can calculate your damages and give you an estimate of what your accident is really worth. We won’t let the insurance companies get away with paying you less.