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What You Get From an Auto Accident Settlement

The amount you are awarded for a car accident settlement depends on the severity of your injuries. Medical bills are higher for more severe injuries.

Documenting your losses can help maximize your settlement. Your lawyer can create an inventory of all relevant damages that includes doctors’ notes, wage documents and eyewitness testimony.

Medical bills

When people get hurt in an automobile accident, medical bills are usually on their minds. Fortunately, the law generally covers these costs in personal injury cases. However, it can take months or even years before the motorist at fault is held responsible by an order of the court or a settlement agreement. In the meantime, victims accumulate medical bills that need to be paid.

Car accident injuries usually require extensive medical attention including surgery and physical therapy. The medical bills that result can be quite high. It is crucial that victims are aware that they shouldn’t be responsible for their own medical bills following a crash. Instead the driver at fault is responsible for these as part of their settlement for the accident.

In certain cases the at-fault party will pay for the victim’s medical bills directly. In other cases the victim’s health insurance, or med-pay coverage will pay these costs in the event that they increase. The cost of these bills could be covered by rolling claims, based on the insurance coverage of the person and the situation.

In certain cases hospitals or health insurance provider will make a lien on a portion of the victim’s eventual settlement. Fortunately, auto accident attorney evansville can help negotiate these liens to increase the amount of money in the pockets of the victim.

Lost wages

A car accident can have a devastating effect on your finances. In addition to your medical bills and property damage, you may be required to cover the cost of lost wages because of your injuries. New York law requires that your car insurance policy reimburse you for income loss up to a certain amount. Your attorney will work to get the full amount that you are entitled to for the lost income.

Paystubs or other forms of documentation for wages are the most popular way to prove income loss. Other important documents include bank statements, invoices, and correspondence when you were self-employed. Correspondence from your employer corroborating the number of hours/days you were off work due to injuries is also important.

If you suffer from a permanent injury which reduces or limits your ability to earn your salary, your lawyer will consult an economist or financial expert to assess your future earning potential. In this type of case the expert will examine your education, age, qualifications, training along with your career tracker and work responsibilities that you could no longer perform.

At Michaels Bersani Kalabanka, our Syracuse car accident lawyers frequently encounter clients who have been severely injured in accidents and are not work. Not only are they entitled to compensation for lost wages resulting from accidents that weren’t their fault, but they may also be able obtain additional compensation from the insurance of the car owner or driver who was at fault.

Pain and suffering

After a car accident, victims of accidents should be compensated for their emotional trauma and pain. However, since emotional distress and physical pain can’t be captured in a photograph or documented with xrays, insurance companies tend to deny these losses. This is why it is essential to have a competent personal injury attorney in your corner when dealing with the at-fault driver’s insurance.

Your Queens injury attorney can help you gather evidence to back your claim. For example, a victim’s medical bills and written official diagnoses can be used to prove the severity of their injuries. A diary or journal that starts on the date of the accident and continues through recovery can also show symptoms of emotional distress and physical discomfort.


The severity of your injuries will also influence the amount of your settlement. For instance, a severe spinal cord injury or severe brain trauma may result in a bigger payout than a minor concussion that healed within three weeks.

The settlement you receive from your auto accident will be affected by the value of your injuries. Your lawyer will assist in the calculation of your damages and in building an argument that is strong enough for you to receive the full compensation that you deserve. Contact an experienced lawyer today to find out more about the different types of damages awarded in the case of a New York car accident lawsuit.

Damages

As we have discussed previously, settlement awards are intended to compensate car accident victims for the financial loss they suffered. The amount of compensation will depend on the severity, and the extent of the injury suffered by the victim and also the amount of loss they have suffered because of work absence or property damage.

A verdict can also include noneconomic damages such as pain and suffering. Insurance companies use an equation to calculate the amount they have to pay. These damages are hard to quantify but they are able to be determined. A multiplier, often determined by medical expenses, is added to the quantifiable cost to determine the amount of settlement for non-economic damages. Injuries that are severe and permanent typically result in higher award amounts than injuries that are minor or temporary.

A car accident can be a traumatic experience and the costs associated with it can be life-altering. The amount of settlement won’t cover these losses, but it can assist victims to overcome their financial difficulties and return to normalcy.

A seasoned lawyer for car accidents can assess your case and advocate for the highest settlement possible. Although it might be tempting to settle for a lower amount than what you’re entitled to this could affect your future recovery. If you sign a settlement agreement, you are reneging on the right to file additional claims or sue in court for any further losses related to the accident.