When you have been in an accident and have had a chance to recuperate and get medical care, addressing the value of your injuries becomes the next point of focus. It is daunting to think about how much compensation you might receive and try to balance this with recovery and daily responsibilities.
Your claim’s value depends on the extent of your injuries, the cost of treatments, lost income, and the emotional impact. Compensation extends beyond immediate expenses to cover the cost of long-term rehabilitation and pain and suffering. This one is difficult to calculate accurately, and you need some expertise. Help from a personal injury attorney will make sure your claim is looked over carefully and maximized.
Before talking with an attorney, consider the following issues to better understand how to approach compensation.
Your Rights as a Plaintiff in California Personal Injury Lawsuits
There is a lot of talk about ‘rights,’ and you have probably seen ads claiming that you are owed compensation after an accident. In California, your ability to recover damages in a personal injury or wrongful death case is guided by the comparative negligence rule under Civil Code 1714. All parties involved in an accident are assigned fault, and compensation accordingly is adjusted based on each party’s assigned responsibility.
California has a pure comparative negligence system. That means you can seek compensation even if you bear some fault in the accident. The court determines each party’s percentage of liability and reduces the sum you recover by your percentage of fault. For instance, if the court awards $200,000 in damages but finds you 30% responsible, you will receive $140,000. This approach ensures that the liability will be proportionate to the defendant’s fault and that you will receive damages despite contributing to the incident.
As a plaintiff, you have several crucial rights, including the following:
- You can present evidence to prove the other party’s fault and challenge any attempt to raise your percentage of liability.
- You have the right to sue for medical costs, lost income, pain and suffering, and other losses related to the accident.
Insurance companies play a pivotal role in personal injury claims, so you must know your rights to deal with them effectively. These companies aim to save as much money as possible, not necessarily because you need it. If you do not know your rights, they will use their tactics to have you settle for less than a fair settlement.
Insurance adjusters know how to negotiate to protect the insurance company’s interest. They may challenge the extent of your injuries, exaggerate your role in the accident, or try to have you settle for a low compensation. Knowing your rights helps you to counter these strategies. You are entitled to seek full compensation for your damages, including medical bills, lost wages, and emotional suffering. You can also reject initial low offers and push for a fair settlement.
Furthermore, when dealing with insurance companies, you do not have to provide a detailed statement or agree to have insurance-recorded interviews without the benefit of legal representation. Adjusters use these conversations to undermine your claim. Insurers are more keen on paying as little as possible than offering fair settlements. Your attorney’s negotiation skills will be invaluable at this point. When you face insurance agents who ignore or undervalue your claim, your attorney will push back against the tactics the insurers will use. Having an attorney represent you means that you know your injury and its potential long-term effect will be fully considered in any settlement offer.
If negotiations fail to produce a fair resolution, your attorney can escalate the matter by filing a lawsuit and representing you in court. The benefit is that you have the legal support you need to fight for a just outcome.
If you cannot get the insurance company to pay what you believe you deserve, litigation is often the best way to secure fair compensation. Pursuing a lawsuit means a higher award, but of course, it comes with challenges, most importantly meeting the burden of proof.
The burden of proof means you must prove that the defendant's actions directly led to your injury, which you are seeking compensation for. You will need strong evidence, like medical records, expert testimony, witness statements, and other supporting documents. The success of your case depends on the quality and strength of the evidence you present.
If you can meet this burden, you have significantly increased your chances of securing the compensation you seek. A well-supported case will show the full extent of your injuries and the damages you have suffered. With experienced legal representation, you will know how to navigate the complexities of litigation and how to present your claim.
Note: You can only exercise your rights to pursue compensation within two years. In California, you typically have two years to file a personal injury lawsuit from the date of your injury. However, exceptions exist, namely:
- Discovery rule — If you do not immediately discover your injury, the statute of limitations may begin when you either discover or should have discovered it
- Minors — If the injured person is under 18, the statute of limitations does not run until they turn 20
How Economic Damages are Arrived At
You can pursue both economic and non-economic damages in personal injury cases.
In personal injury cases, economic damages seek to compensate for real, tangible financial losses, with medical expenses often representing the largest category. Properly accounting for these expenses, including the immediate costs of the injury and future medical needs that may arise, is important.
The first step is to collect all the documentation on immediate treatment to calculate medical expenses. These include hospital bills, doctor visits, medications, surgeries, and diagnostic tests. The costs should be well documented through receipts, invoices, and statements from healthcare providers. Clear, organized records will help you substantiate your claim and ensure all your immediate expenses are accounted for.
However, there is more to your medical expenses than the immediate costs. Also, future medical needs, particularly the cost of ongoing care or treatment, should be considered. The future costs of these are hard to estimate because these future costs depend on the long-term impact of your injury. Medical experts, like the treating physician or specialist, may testify about:
- How severe your injury is
- How much treatment will cost over time
- What the course of treatment will be
If you require long-term physical therapy, surgery, or any other special medical treatment, these projected expenses should be included in your claim. The more detailed and accurate your evidence is, the better the compensation you will receive.
Sometimes, a life care plan is created in cases of severe injuries that require long-term or lifelong care. A life care plan is a comprehensive breakdown of the services you will need for rehabilitation, home care, and medical equipment. It will give you an accurate forecast of your future medical costs and will be able to strengthen your claim for maximum compensation.
Economic damages include lost wages or reduced earning capacity because of an injury. Financial losses that result from your inability to work are essential when your ability to work is compromised. When calculating the value of the lost wages due to an injury, you must account for your earnings by providing evidence, including pay stubs, tax returns, and employment records, to prove how you have been impacted.
Determination of Non-economic Damages
Non-economic losses, which are included in personal injury and wrongful death lawsuits, are more challenging to quantify. Unlike medical bills or lost wages, non-economic damages are based on an injury's emotional and psychological effects. These damages are difficult to estimate because they do not have clear and immediate monetary values attached.
Pain and suffering is the most significant non-economic damage. Physical pain and the emotional distress caused by the injury are included in this category. The pain and suffering may range widely depending on the severity of the injury and what it means to the person’s daily life. The greater the pain or distress, the higher the amount of these damages for which the plaintiff can be compensated.
Attorneys use several methods to determine the value of noneconomic damages. One method often used is the multiplier method. This method multiplies the total economic damages, like medical costs and wages, by a factor of 1.5 to about 5, based on the severity of the injury. For example, if the economic damages total $50,000, the non-economic damages would amount to $150,000 if a multiplier of 3 was used.
A second approach involves assigning a daily amount for pain and suffering. This rate is generally based on the plaintiff’s lifestyle or income and multiplied by the number of days the plaintiff suffers. This methodology is specifically convenient for injuries with a defined recovery time.
Non-economic damages are subjective by nature, and attorneys assess them using expert testimony, medical records, and personal accounts.
What is My Injury Claim Worth?
Several factors can affect how much compensation you will receive in a personal injury case, although general guidelines estimate the potential settlement. These factors include:
- The severity of your injuries
- The impact of the injuries on your daily life
- The associated recovery cost
The extent of your injuries is a primary consideration. Minor injuries typically result in settlements of between $3,000 and $5,000, depending on the treatment required. Compensation for moderate injuries might go up to $50,000 or more. For more severe injuries that require extensive medical care or have a long-term impact, the settlement value could go as high as $250,000 or more. Catastrophic injuries, which result in permanent disability, may exceed $1,000,000. These figures are rough estimates. The value could vary since each case is assessed on its own merits.
The courts will also assess the impact of the injuries on your daily life. If your injury limits your earning capacity to a point where you can no longer earn the same as before, you can claim lost wages and diminished future earnings. That includes the income you lose while you recover and the long-term financial consequences if your injury prevents you from returning to your job or career.
Compensation also includes pain and suffering. Although challenging to quantify, the physical and emotional toll of your injury significantly affects the settlement. Courts and insurance companies consider your pain's severity, duration, and impact on your overall quality of life.
Furthermore, the final settlement amount is determined by the defendant's degree of fault, your role in the accident, and the amount of insurance coverage available.
If you want to give your case the best chance of a higher settlement, you can take steps to strengthen your claim and increase the compensation. They include:
- Seek immediate medical attention — Timely treatment prioritizes your health and establishes the link between your injuries and the accident. The sooner you get care, the stronger your case.
- Carefully follow your doctor’s instructions — The instructions will help you recover and show you are serious about your recovery. Insurers could use any deviation from the prescribed care to counter your claims that your injuries are as severe as you claim.
- Document every detail — Make sure you update bills, prescriptions, all medical treatment, and other related expenses. If possible, take photos of your injuries and the accident scene. Saving all this will provide a perfect base for your case.
- Maintain a pain and suffering journal — Track how your injury affects your daily life, including pain, emotional distress, and any limitations on your activities. When calculating the total amount, this record can help justify noneconomic damages, like pain and suffering compensation.
- Be cautious about discussing your case publicly, particularly on social media — If you are talking about your case publicly, particularly on social media, be careful because insurance companies will monitor these platforms and use anything you say to discredit your claim. Keep your case confidential to stay clear of extra setbacks.
Why Filing a Lawsuit Can Help You Secure a Better Settlement From Insurance Companies
Filing a lawsuit can be seen as a strategic move if you, for example, fail to secure what you expected or deserved when an insurance company denies your claim. Insurers often act quickly after an accident and offer low offers, hoping to get you to settle before you know the full extent of your rights and damages. These offers may be tempting because they come with immediate deadlines for acceptance, but you should be cautious.
Insurance companies, looking out for their interests, often want to minimize payouts, even if it means offering less than you deserve. An offer may initially appear attractive but may not factor in all of the long-term financial, emotional, and physical costs associated with your injury. This may include future medical expenses, lost wages, pain and suffering, and other damages that are not immediately identifiable. These critical factors are easily overlooked when you are pressured to accept a fast offer.
This is where the value of a skilled personal injury attorney comes in. Hiring an attorney familiar with the details of your case helps you gather information about what your next best steps should be. Attorneys know what insurance companies will do and can review an offer to see if it is fair based on the full extent of your damages. Along with knowing how much future treatments or rehabilitative care will cost, they will also consider how long-term costs, including future treatments, might affect your financial situation. Your lawyer will help you estimate the costs of any ongoing treatment or therapy required for your injury and, in some cases, will bring in medical experts to testify about how much you will need to spend on care and services over the years.
Your lawyer will also consider any non-economic damages, like pain and suffering, emotional distress, and diminished quality of life, which are harder to quantify but just as important in determining the fair value of a settlement offer.
Filing a lawsuit does not just lead to a better settlement through trial. It is also a tool to let the insurance company know you are willing to go to court if you have to. It can also prompt insurers to offer a more reasonable settlement than run the risk of a trial that might last for longer and cost even more. However, filing a lawsuit does not mean the case will end up in trial. Most of these cases are settled during the litigation process, and your attorney will be there to ensure you secure the best offer possible and that any offers made are looked at and negotiated thoroughly.
While taking the quick payout from an insurance company might be tempting, accepting an offer too quickly could cost you the money you may need for long-term recovery, future medical treatments, and the emotional cost of the injury. Insurance companies know that many people, under pressure, will take the first offer without realizing that they may be entitled to far more.
Having an attorney works in your favor because you have someone working to ensure your case is taken care of properly. Your attorney’s goal is to secure a settlement or verdict that makes you whole for all your losses. If the insurance company’s offer fails to meet your needs, your attorney will be ready to negotiate or take the matter to court.
Find a San Diego Personal Injury Attorney Near Me
Maximizing the compensation for your pain is key to securing the justice you deserve. With a clear understanding of what your case is about and an experienced lawyer's help, you can be confident that every element of the injury is taken care of. Working alongside an experienced personal injury lawyer will help put you in the best position to get the compensation you deserve.
Do not settle for less. Contact San Diego Personal Injury Law Firm for a consultation today. We are here to help you fight for the fair compensation you deserve and to help you navigate the process every step of the way. Contact us at 619-478-4059 for further assistance.