how to estimate personal injury settlement

by Ludwig Bartoletti Published 2 years ago Updated 2 years ago

Determine if you have an injury that is likely to result in a settlement award. ...
Add up all of your economic damages. Economic damages are the quantifiable damages stemming from objectively verifiable sources.
Use a multiplier to assess the extent of your general damages. General damages, often called non-economic damages, are the damages associated with subjective, non-monetary losses.
Add together your total economic damages and general damages. After you have calculated your economic and general damages, you will add them together to get a grand total.
Reduce your award calculation if your own actions contributed to the injury. ...
Consider punitive damages. When the defendant's actions that caused your injury were particularly egregious, you may be able to increase the value of your estimated claim by considering punitive ...
Formulate a final estimated claim value based on your calculations. ...

Full Answer

How to calculate your personal injury settlement?

Settlement Calculator

Confirm With a Lawyer. There are many factors that go into determining a settlement amount for a personal injury case, and this calculation is just the start.
Damages and The Multiplier. ...
More Information. ...
Adjust Your Settlement Target for Your Own Fault. ...

How do you calculate a personal injury claim?

A person must first owe a duty to you. A duty arises when the law recognizes some sort of relationship between you and the person causing the injury. ...
Second, the person who injured you must have breached the duty they owed to you. ...
Third, a person's actions must have caused your injuries. ...
Finally, you must be able to prove damages. ...

How do I maximize my personal injury settlement?

Interviewing eyewitnesses
Obtaining police reports and other documents
Surveying the scene
Gathering and analyzing physical evidence
Hiring experts to support your claim
Collecting proof of your documented losses and expenses

How much should my personal injury settlement be?

Using the personal injury calculator, your claim is estimated to be in the range of $3,450.00 to $11,500.00. For a serious debilitating injury, like a disfigurement or brain damage, your claim is estimated to be in the range of $11,500.00 to $23,000.00.

What is the formula for personal injury settlements?

The formula goes like this: Damages = Economic damages x 1.5 (based on the injury severity) + lost income. For instance, assuming you fractured an arm in a motor collision and the medical expenses sum up to $10,000. Let's also assume that the injury made you miss 2 months of work which would have paid you $20,000.

How do I find out how much my settlement is?

After your attorney clears all your liens, legal fees, and applicable case costs, the firm will write you a check for the remaining amount of your settlement. Your attorney will send you the check and forward it to the address he or she has on file for you.

How do you calculate emotional pain and suffering?

These types of compensation are called pain and suffering. Generally, pain and suffering awards will be calculated by adding up the economic damages and multiplying them by a number between 1.5 and 5, depending on the severity of the injury.

How much money can you get from a neck injury?

How much is a neck injury worth? It will vary depending on the type of injury, but the average payout for a neck injury is between $5,000 and $50,000. Soft tissue neck injury claims are worth between $5,000 and $20,000 on average. Neck disc injury cases that result in surgery average over $200,000.

How long after settlement will I get my money?

At settlement, your lender will disburse funds for your home loan and you'll receive the keys to your home. Generally, settlement takes place around 6 weeks after contracts are exchanged. Your conveyancer or solicitor can check and negotiate the settlement period with the seller.

What is the largest personal injury settlement?

Here are the Largest Personal Injury Settlements in US History$150 Billion For The Family of Robert Middleton. ... $4.9 Billion For The Anderson Family From General Motors. ... Gas Station Manager Awarded $60 Million After Suffering Brain Injuries Caused by Derailed Train. ... Ford Motor Co.More items...•

What are the five signs of emotional suffering?

Know the 5 signs of Emotional SufferingPersonality change in a way that seems different for that person.Agitation or displaying anger, anxiety or moodiness.Withdrawal or isolation from others.Poor self-care and perhaps engaging in risky behavior.Hopelessness, or feelings of being overwhelmed and worthless.

What is emotional distress worth?

Emotional distress can often qualify for both special and general damages. Because of this, pain and suffering compensation usually amounts to 2 to 5 times the total costs of medical bills (therapies, medications, etc.) and lost wages from missed work. This amount can vary significantly on a case-by-case basis.

What counts as emotional distress?

Mental suffering as an emotional response to an experience that arises from the effect or memory of a particular event, occurrence, pattern of events or condition. Emotional distress can usually be discerned from its symptoms (ex. Anxiety, depression, loss of ability to perform tasks, or physical illness).

How much is a pinched nerve worth?

Generally speaking, an accident victim can expect $15,000 to $75,000 for mild to moderate injuries. For severe damage, a victim may receive $100,000 upwards into millions.

What is a neck and back injury worth?

The average settlement for a minor back or neck injury is between $2,500 and $8,000. If physical therapy, injections, or other forms of treatment are required the settlement may be higher and range from $20,000 - $40,000.

How much is a herniated disc in the neck worth?

A herniated disc settlement for a neck injury ranges between $15,000 to well over $200,000. A neck injury settlement depends on which injury your neck has and a herniated disc is a serious neck injury which can leave you with debilitating pain.

What is emotional pain and suffering?

As a part of pain and suffering damages, emotional distress (also called mental anguish) is when someone's actions cause you to suffer mental harm, such as anguish, humiliation, torment, anxiety, insomnia, and depression. Pain like headaches is not considered emotional distress.

What is an example of emotional pain?

Deep sorrow, sadness, or depression. Grief. Intense distress. Loneliness and isolation.

Is emotional pain worse than physical pain?

Pain caused by emotional distress is more deeply felt and longer lasting than that caused by physical injuries, according to a new study.

What does emotional pain feel like?

Bolger [8] defined emotional pain as a state of 'feeling broken' that involved the experience of being wounded, loss of self, disconnection, and critical awareness of one's more negative attributes.

How to negotiate a settlement for a car accident?

The first step in negotiating a settlement for a car accident or personal injury claim is calculating a reasonable amount of money you would accept to give up your legal claim. Most insurance companies and injury attorneys rely on one formula or another to get a starting point for settlement talks. This is true for a bodily injury claim in ...

What are the two types of damages in a personal injury claim?

After you enter your numbers and click "Calculate," the two dollar figures you see above the "Your Total Settlement Estimate" field represent the two main types of damages that arise in the majority of injury cases: economic losses (called "special" damages) and non-economic losses (called "general" damages). In any injury-related insurance claim, or even a personal injury lawsuit filed in civil court, the losses suffered by the person who has been injured can be placed into one of these two categories.

What happens when you add a multiplier to a special damages claim?

But once the multiplier is used to arrive at a general damages figure, adding that number to the special damages total will give the insurance adjuster (and you) a ballpark idea of the value of your claim, or at least a starting point for settlement negotiations.

How to put a dollar value on medical losses?

To get a dollar figure that might represent the value of the general damages, an insurance adjuster will add up all the "special" medical damages (remember those are your quantifiable losses) and multiply that total by a number between 1.5 and 5 (that's the multiplier).

What is special damages?

Special damages are those losses that are easy to quantify. They include the costs of medical treatment, any lost income due to time missed at work, property damage caused by the accident, and other out-of-pocket losses.

Can you win a lawsuit if you are found to be at fault?

The following states have a very harsh rule on shared fault. You cannot win any damages if you are found to be even 1% at fault. If the evidence shows that your own carelessness contributed to your injuries, you cannot win an award in a lawsuit, so your estimated settlement value is nearly zero.

Why is there no average settlement for personal injury?

The reason you typically will not find a ‘typical’ or ‘average amount awarded in any personal injury lawsuit is because of the high number of factors that go into the lawsuit.

How to calculate general damages?

The general method that is used is to add up all of the special damages, and then multiple it by a number between 1.5 and 5. 1.5 is the minimum amount a person can get from a personal injury settlement, while 5 is the highest. People can only receive a 5 on their personal injury claims they have catastrophic injuries that permanently affect their lives.

What is Uplift Legal Funding?

Uplift Legal Funding’s calculator provides a basic overview of the expected total recoverable damages from your personal injury case. To get a better idea of what that means for your personal injury settlement, you may need to take into account the following:

How to calculate lost wages?

In order to calculate this, multiple your monthly earnings by the number of months you’ve been unable to work due to your injury. Lost earnings are one of the easiest things to calculate luckily, so this number will be similar to what the insurance company uses.

What are the two types of physical damages?

There are two forms of physical damages: Minor, temporary, or soft tissue injuries – injuries that resolve with conservative treatment. Serious, surgical, or permanent injuries – injuries that require some form of surgery or are permanent in nature. The personal injury lawsuit calculator includes all forms of injuries.

What is net settlement?

A net settlement is what you will actually receive once everything is said and done.

What happens if you get injured and you lose your wages?

If your injury is severe enough, it is likely you will not be able to work as much as you used to. If this is the case then you will lose future wages as a result. Your settlement will include a portion of the wages you would have made if you had not been injured.

Intangible vs. Tangible Damages

In any estimate of personal injury damages, there are always two types of injury to consider. One is much easier to estimate and quantify than the other.

Setting Expectations

The reality is that you likely won’t get the full amount you seek in a trial, mainly because settlements are negotiated out of court to prevent it from going to trial in the first place. You can also only expect to recoup, in general, what the other party has in assets or insurance.

What is a personal injury settlement?

A personal injury settlement can help you recover from the financial, mental, and physical toll a serious injury can have. It can be difficult to know how much to ask for in a personal injury settlement. Whether you’re afraid you’re asking for too much or not enough, an experienced Philadelphia personal injury attorney can help you understand your ...

How much does a personal injury lawsuit cost?

The vast majority of personal injury lawsuits deal with relatively minor injuries and will total $50,000 or less. In cases with more serious injuries, the amount of damages can increase exponentially, pushing the total into the millions of dollars range.

What are the expenses associated with filing a personal injury claim?

In the filing of a personal injury case, there are other fees that often accrue. Postage, filing fees with the courts, and document fees for certified copies are just a few common expenses involved in filing a personal injury claim.

How to get compensation for personal injury?

Working with a lawyer is easy to do. Start with a free consultation where you will have the opportunity to discuss the specifics of your situation. They’ll talk to you about the potential for a personal injury settlement and your options moving forward. If you decide to pursue a claim, your case will become their cause as they help put together a strong case, negotiate on your behalf with the defendant or their insurance, and represent you in court. Contact Anapol Weiss to get the legal representation you need to get the compensation you deserve today.

Why is it important to get a lawyer involved in a personal injury claim?

When putting together your claim for a personal injury, getting a lawyer involved early in the process is important. They can not only help protect your rights by reviewing any communications with the defendant or their representative but also help ensure you are asking for the full amount of compensation you’re due.

Do settlements look like money?

While settlements may look like a lot of money when they’re touted on flashy commercials or when an extraordinary case makes the news, the truth is that much of the money is already accounted for at the time the settlement is reached.

Property Damage

Property damage refers to the real dollar value of restoring damaged property to its previous condition. With personal injury claims, property damage comes into play during auto accidents. Usually, either a body shop, insurance adjuster, or both will determine this value.

Medical Expenses

Usually, plaintiffs cover medical expenses through their own insurance, or on lien with a letter of protection from an attorney. In either case, medical expenses will typically be paid out of your settlement at a reduced rate.

Medical Damages Multiplier

To use this calculator properly, it is important to speak with your attorney about what they think an appropriate general damages multiplier would be for your case.

Lost Wages

If you worked prior to your injury, and are out of work as a result of your injury, you may be able to recover lost wages in your settlement. To calculate these, just multiply your monthly earnings by the number of months you were out of work due to injury.

How much should a liability settlement be?

For liability cases, the basic rule is that the settlement should roughly equal the extent and intensity of injuries. This sounds easy enough, but it is hopelessly vague. Using the most common type of accident as an example ( motor vehicle accidents ), insurance actuaries reveal an average award of $24,000 per case in 2013.

How to get the most out of a settlement?

The best way to get the most out of a settlement is to be proactive. Take charge of your own case and know where your money is going – don't just leave it to your attorney to figure out.

What is the multiplier in insurance?

How to calculate special damages?

This is when attorneys use what they call " the multiplier ." An insurance adjuster will add up special damages and multiply that by a number between 1.5 and 5. That number will be low or high depending on specific facts in your case: 1 Severity of your injuries 2 Medical treatment you have received to date 3 How much treatment you anticipate needing in the future 4 Prognosis (are you expected to recover?) 5 Permanent or long-lasting effects? 6 Impact on your daily life

What type of damages can you recover?

There are a few types of damages for which you could potentially recover: Economic (special) damages – costs of medical treatment, estimated future medical treatment, lost earnings, future lost earnings, property damage, out-of-pocket expenses.

How to calculate time off work for settlement?

Most law firms add together time off work plus medical costs and multiply that value by four to reach an estimate for settlement discussions.

What are non-economic damages?

Non-economic (general) damages – pain and suffering, emotional distress, inconvenience, loss of consortium (companionship of husband, wife or partner), loss of enjoyment of life