A frequent question we hear from clients is, “how much car accident compensation can I get from my settlement?”
Well, a car accident claim varies depending on many factors, including who was at fault for the crash, the severity of the car accident victim’s injuries, and how much insurance coverage is available.
If you have been involved in an auto accident, it is important to seek legal advice as soon as possible—especially if you were injured. An insurance claim can cover medical expenses for serious injuries, lost income from time off work, pain and suffering damages (if applicable), and even loss of future earnings due to an injury that has long-term effects on your life.
Many people are unsure about how much money they will receive after their car accident settlement is finalized, so here’s some helpful information about the factors that influence auto accident compensation.
Factors that Influence Car Accident Compensation
When analyzing the factors that impact how much car accident compensation you will get, an insurance company will try its best to get car accident victims to accept low-ball offers that may be a fraction of what a case is worth.
What’s more, the insurance adjuster will try to make the offer sound better than it is and will often try to confuse and pressure the injured victim into accepting the low-ball offers.
At Ligori Law, our experienced car accident lawyer team help injured victims fight back and sort through these insurance company talking points. Our car accident attorney team has seen and heard virtually every insurance company’s script for why they should not pay a fair amount for a valid and worthy claim for car accident injuries.
Our law firm can go through all of the variables of your case and provide an assessment of what a fair settlement range might be and whether the insurance company is being dishonest or unfair.
Each car accident claim is unique, and the list of variables that can affect how much your case may settle for is lengthy. However, our experienced car accident lawyers typically examine three main variables to estimate how much you can potentially claim. These include,
- How bad are the injuries, and can they be proved?
- How much insurance coverage does the at-fault driver have?
- How much are the medical bills and other expenditures related to the case?
How Bad Are the Injuries and Can They Be Proved?
Generally, a minor injury will settle for less money than a serious injury. So naturally, a car accident that just results in bruising and temporary soreness for a couple of days will result in a smaller settlement than a case involving broken bones or surgeries.
However, in the early stages of a car accident case, it is difficult to determine whether the injuries are, in fact, minor or whether they can be a sign of the beginning of a more serious and persistent problem.
An at-fault driver’s own insurance company will try to justify an unfair low-ball offer by minimizing the effect that these injuries have on a victim’s life and wellbeing. The insurance adjuster will also do whatever they can to blame the pain, suffering, and injuries on anything but the car accident they are responsible for.
For example, insurance companies will argue that the injuries caused by the accident were instead caused by aging, genetics, bad luck, prior car accidents, or overall poor health. But, ultimately, if you’re able to prove the extent of injuries and that they directly relate to the car accident, it can significantly impact the settlement you receive.
Our experienced attorneys can help you with personal injury protection by sorting through the medical records, medical bills, and complicated medical terminology to prove what injuries were related to the car accident. In addition, we know all of the arguments that insurance companies make to avoid paying a valid and worthy claim.
Insurance Companies: How Much Insurance Coverage is Available?
We have found that car accidents are frequently caused by people who have minimal to no assets that can be recovered. In other words, the at-fault driver often cannot pay for the injuries they have caused. The most important question then becomes, do they have insurance coverage to pay for the injuries they have caused, and if so, how much insurance coverage is available?
Insurance policies are notoriously complicated to decipher and interpret without the help of an experienced attorney. Our experienced attorneys know where and what to look for when going through an insurance policy to ensure our clients get the motor vehicle accident compensation they deserve for their injuries.
Often, the difference between a small and a large settlement depends on finding or interpreting an insurance policy. For example, the insurance company told some of our clients that there was minimal to no insurance coverage available, only to find out from us that the insurance company misrepresented the terms of the policy.
How Much Are the Medical Bills and Other Expenditures Related to the Case?
Another important factor determining how much compensation someone will receive in a car accident settlement is the expenditures that have to be paid from the settlement.
In other words, are there extensive medical costs? Do hospital liens have to be paid? Are there health insurance liens that have to be satisfied? What are the court filing fees, deposition fees, mediation costs, and other litigation costs?
These are just a few questions that must be answered and considered when determining what a case should settle for and the individual’s net amount received.
Frequently, an insurance companies’ initial offer will not even cover the medical bills. Thus, if the injured victim were to accept the settlement, they would be left in debt paying medical bills from an accident they did not cause.
Our experienced personal injury lawyer team can sort through these issues and help you determine a fair settlement amount that can cover all of the above factors with money left over.
Key Takeaways
A car accident compensation settlement can cover medical expenses, lost wages from time off work, pain and suffering damages (if applicable), and even loss of future earnings. If you have been involved in a car accident or are looking for guidance with your case, get in touch with us today for a free consultation.
If you have been involved in a car accident and want to know how much your personal injury claim settlement will be, we can help. Our team of lawyers is ready to evaluate the facts surrounding your case and provide an informed evaluation of what compensation might look like. We understand that this process may seem intimidating at first, but our only goal is to make sure you get the best outcome possible from your legal representation.
Our Tampa personal injury attorneys are prepared to help you get the compensation you deserve. For a free consultation with one of our experienced legal professionals, please contact us at 813-223-2929 today!
