What You Get From an Auto Accident Settlement

The amount of money you receive from a car accident settlement will depend on the extent of your injuries. More severe injuries result in higher future and current medical costs.

Documenting your losses will help you maximize your settlement. Your lawyer will be able to compile a list of all relevant damages, which includes doctor's notes, wage documentation, and eyewitness testimony.

Medical bills

When people get hurt in a car crash medical bills are typically at the forefront of their minds. In most personal injury cases, the law will cover these costs. It may take months or in some cases years before the driver who was at fault is held liable through an order of the court or a settlement agreement, however. In the meantime, victims accumulate medical bills that have to be paid.

Car accident injuries typically require major medical procedures like surgery or physical therapy. Medical expenses can be costly. It is essential for the victims to realize that they should not have to bear the financial burden of paying their own medical expenses following a crash, and that the at-fault driver is responsible to pay them as part of their settlement.

In some instances the at-fault party can pay the victim's medical expenses directly. In other situations, the victim's health insurance, or med-pay policy will pay for these costs as they grow. These expenses can be covered by rolling claims depending on the insurance coverage of the person and situation.

In some instances hospitals or health insurance provider will put a lien on a portion of the victim's final settlement. An experienced lawyer can negotiate these liens to put more money in the victim's pockets.

Loss of wages

A car crash can wreck destruction to your finances. In addition to medical costs and property damage you may have to cover the cost of lost wages because of your injuries. New York law requires that your insurance policy for cars reimburse you for income loss up to a limit. Your lawyer will work with you to get the full amount you are entitled to in lieu of your lost earnings.

Paystubs and other documents for wages are the most common way to prove lost income. Other documents to consider are invoices, bank statements and correspondence for self-employed workers. Correspondence from your employer which confirms the number of days/hours you missed work because of your injuries is also extremely important.

If you suffer from an injury that permanently limits or hinders your earning potential, your lawyer will consult an economist or financial advisor to assess your future earning potential. In this case the expert will evaluate your age, education level, qualifications, training and career progression, as well as job duties that you can no longer carry out.

At Michaels Bersani Kalabanka, our Syracuse car accident lawyers frequently meet with clients who are seriously injured in accidents and no longer work. They are not limited to a no-fault loss of wages, but could also obtain additional compensation from the at-fault driver's insurance or the car owner's insurance.

Pain and suffering

After a car accident, victims of accidents should be compensated for their emotional distress and pain. However, since emotional distress and physical pain are not captured in a photograph or documented with xrays, insurance companies often discredit these losses. This is why it is so important to have a professional personal injury attorney to represent you when dealing with the insurance company of the driver who is at fault.

Your Queens injury lawyer can assist you gather evidence to back your claim. For instance, the patient's medical bills and formal diagnoses can demonstrate the severity of their injuries. A diary or journal that starts at the time of the accident and continues throughout the healing process, can document physical and emotional pain as well as emotional distress.

The severity of your injuries will also impact the amount of settlement you receive. For example, a spinal cord injury or a severe brain trauma could result in a larger settlement than a minor concussion that was cured in three weeks.

The amount of your injuries are a critical element that will impact the settlement you receive for your auto accident lawsuit accident. Your lawyer will assist you in making a calculation of your damages, and then build an effective case to receive the full compensation that you deserve. To learn more about the different types of damages that can be awarded in the course of a New York auto accident attorneys accident lawsuit, contact an experienced attorney.

Damages

As we've discussed earlier, settlement awards are intended to compensate car accident victims for the financial loss they suffered. The amount awarded will be contingent on the severity of a person's injuries and the amount they've suffered due to injuries to their property and work.

In addition, an award may also cover non-economic damages like suffering and pain. These damages aren't quantifiable, however insurance companies use an equation to determine how much they should pay for these kinds of damages. A multiplier, which is usually calculated based on medical costs, is added to the quantifiable expenses to determine a settlement amount for non-economic damages. Permanent impairments and severe injuries typically result in higher settlement amounts than injuries that are minor or temporary.

A car accident can be an experience that is traumatic and could alter your life. The amount of settlement won't completely erase the losses but it can help victims overcome their financial challenges and get back to normalcy.

A lawyer for car accidents with experience can evaluate your case and fight for an amount as high as is possible. Although it could be tempting to accept a lower amount than you're entitled to this could affect your future recovery. Once you sign a settlement agreement, it is understood that you give up the right to file additional claims or seek justice for any additional losses related to the accident.