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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 degree of your injuries. More severe injuries result in larger current and future medical expenses.

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

Medical bills

When people are injured in a car crash medical bills are typically in the forefront of their minds. Fortunately, the law usually covers these costs in personal injury cases. However, it can take months or even years before the at-fault motorist is held responsible by a court decision or settlement agreement. In the meantime, victims accrue medical bills that must be paid.

Car accident injuries typically require extensive medical treatment which includes surgery and physical therapy. The medical bills that result can be substantial. It is crucial that victims know that they don’t have to pay their own medical bills after the crash. Instead, the at-fault motorist should be responsible for them as part of their settlement.

In some instances the at-fault party can pay the victim’s medical expenses directly. In other cases the victim’s health insurance or med-pay coverage will cover these expenses as they accumulate. In the case of a victim’s circumstance and the type of insurance coverage, these expenses could also be covered under rolling claims.

In some instances the hospital or health insurance provider may place a lien against a portion of a settlement for a victim. Fortunately, a qualified attorney can assist in negotiating these liens in order to put more money in the pockets of the victim.

Lost wages

A car crash can cause destruction to your finances. In addition to your medical expenses and property damage, you could have to pay for lost wages due to of your injuries. New York law requires car insurance policies to pay for your loss of income up to a certain limit. Your attorney will fight for the full amount of the lost earnings.

Paystubs and other documents for wages are the most frequently used method to prove income loss. Other documents to consider are bank statements, invoices and correspondence for self-employed workers. It is also necessary to have letters from your employer that confirms the number of hours or days you missed due to injury.


If you have an injury that is permanent and reduces or limits your earning capacity your salary, your lawyer will consult an economist or financial expert in order to determine your future earning potential. In this case the expert will look at your age, education level and training, credentials, career path, and job tasks that you are no more capable of performing.

Our Syracuse car accident lawyers often represent clients who have been seriously injured in accidents and are in a position of being unable to work. They are not just entitled to lost wages without fault, but could also obtain additional compensation from at-fault driver’s or owner’s insurer.

Pain and suffering

Following a collision, car victims should be compensated for their emotional stress and pain. However, because emotional pain and physical pain can’t be documented in a photograph or documented with xrays, insurance companies often discredit these losses. This is why it is so important to have a reputable personal injury lawyer to represent you when dealing with the insurance company of the driver who is at fault.

Your Queens injury attorney can help you gather evidence to back your claim. For instance, a victim’s medical bills and written formal diagnoses can prove the severity of their injuries. A journal or diary, which begins at the time of an accident and continues throughout the healing process, can document physical and emotional pain as well as emotional distress.

The severity of your injuries will determine the amount of settlement you receive. A spinal cord injury or severe head trauma, like, may result in a bigger amount than a minor sprain that heals in three weeks.

The amount of your injuries are an important aspect that can affect the amount of your auto accident settlement. Your lawyer will assist in making a calculation of your damages, and then build an effective case to get the full amount you are entitled to. To learn more about the kinds of damages that can be awarded in a New York auto accident lawsuit Contact an experienced attorney.

Damages

As we’ve discussed previously, settlement awards aim to compensate victims of car accidents for financial losses. The amount awarded will depend on the severity of a person’s injuries and how much they’ve suffered due to missed work and property damage.

auto accident attorneys redwood city could also include non-economic damages such as pain and suffering. Insurance companies employ a formula for calculating the amount they are required to pay. These damages are hard to quantify however they can be calculated. To determine the amount of settlement for noneconomic damages the multiplier is usually based on medical costs. Major injuries and permanent impairments are typically awarded higher settlements than minor injuries or injuries that are temporary.

An accident in the car is a traumatic experience that could alter your life. The amount of the settlement won’t completely erase the losses but it can aid victims in overcoming their financial challenges and get back to normal.

A lawyer for car accidents with experience will know how to evaluate your case and fight for an amount as high as is possible. While it could be appealing to take a lesser amount than you deserve, this could impede your future recovery. If you sign the settlement agreement, you are giving up the option to file additional claims or pursue court action for any other losses relating to the accident.