How Injury Settlements are Calculated After a Car Accident

Anyone who is a victim of an accident caused by another party is legally able to file a claim against the at-fault party, through their insurance company, for the losses that their injuries have caused them. Arriving at a fair and just amount, however, often requires the assistance of our Salt Lake City, UT car accident lawyer to help protect the rights of the victim.

When an accident claim is filed with an insurance company, they will assign it to one of their insurance adjusters. The adjuster is tasked with determining how much the value of the victim’s claim is, however, their end goal is to settle the case for the least amount of money possible.

It is with goal in mind that the insurance adjuster will make the first settlement offer. This amount is typically much lower than what the claim is actually worth. However, the goal of the insurance company is also to avoid litigation and having the claim end up as a lawsuit where the determination of how much the victim’s losses are worth is made by a jury or a judge. This could end up being much costlier for the company.

Therefore, the insurance company is open to negotiations with the victim’s car accident lawyer Salt Lake City, UT. During these negotiations, the adjuster will likely examine the following when coming up with an amount that both sides will agree to:

  • All of the documented expenses the victim has incurred as a result of the injuries. This includes medical bills, travel expenses for treatments, and property damage.
  • Past, present, and future loss of income and benefits
  • Pain and suffering
  • Emotional anguish
  • Permanent disability
  • Scarring
  • Disfigurement

The adjuster will also look at evidence presented by the Salt Lake City, UT car accident lawyer regarding how the injury has impacted the victim’s daily life, including their ability to enjoy and participate in the activities the way they did before the accident.

After the insurance adjuster has examined all of the evidence submitted by the victim’s Salt Lake City car accident lawyer and researched similar types of injuries, they will make a decision regarding just how strong the victim’s case is against their client. The stronger the evidence, the stronger the commitment of the insurance company to negotiate in good faith and offer a higher settlement amount.

When it comes to determining the settlement amount, there are economic and noneconomic damages to consider. The economic damages have actual dollar amounts attached to them, such as lost wages and medical expenses. Noneconomic damages are things like pain and suffering and emotional anguish and do not have a tangible value like economic damages do.

Since noneconomic damages do not have dollar amounts, they have to be determined a different way. There are two common formulas that insurance companies use for these types of damages.

The first is the per diem method. This is where the insurance adjuster will set a per day value for each day the victim suffered. They will then multiply that amount by the total number of days the victim was recovering.

The second way they can use is referred to as the pain multiplier method. The insurance company will choose a multiplier between the numbers of 1.5 and 5. This number is based on how much pain and suffering the victim endured. They will then multiply that number to the total amount of medical bills and lost wages.

Contact Our Salt Lake City Car Accident Lawyer Today

Following a car accident, you will probably have a lot of emotions going through your head. You may not know what to do next. Keep in mind that you do not have to go through this on your own. Always seek the help of a medical professional. Then, rely on our professional injury lawyer from Rasumussen & Miner to help you.