Personal Injury Settlements: How Compensation Is Calculated

If you’ve been injured due to someone else’s mistake, you know that the recovery process isn’t just about healing physically. From mounting medical bills to lost wages and the emotional toll of the injury itself, it can feel like you’re facing a mountain of challenges. 

But there’s good news, personal injury compensation is designed to help get you back on your feet. If you’re considering a personal injury claim, it’s important to understand how personal injury compensation is calculated so you can know what to expect. Our team at Freeman Injury Law is here to break it all down for you.

What Goes Into Personal Injury Compensation?

Personal injury compensation is meant to help you recover the costs of your injuries, and it typically falls into two broad categories: economic damages and non-economic damages. Let’s take a closer look at both and how they influence your settlement.

Economic Damages: What You Can Count On

Economic damages are the tangible, measurable losses that result from your injury. This includes things like medical bills, lost wages, and property damage. For instance, if you’ve been involved in a car accident, you can work with a car accident lawyer to claim the cost of repairs or replacement for your vehicle, along with any medical expenses related to the injury. 

If you had to miss work, you could also seek compensation for lost income. These numbers are easy to calculate, so they play a key role in determining your settlement.

Non-Economic Damages: The Tougher-to-Measure Losses

While economic damages are straightforward, non-economic damages are trickier. These are designed to compensate for losses that aren’t easily quantified, such as pain and suffering, emotional distress, or loss of enjoyment of life. 

For example, if you suffer from chronic pain or long-term physical limitations after an injury, non-economic damages would help compensate for that. Although it’s harder to put a price on something like emotional pain, experienced attorneys can use factors like your medical records and testimony to calculate a reasonable figure.

These damages are often determined using a multiplier method. This means that your economic damages will be multiplied by a factor based on the severity of your injury, usually between 1.5 and 5.

Proving Fault and Negligence

Before determining the amount of compensation you may receive, it is essential to identify who is legally responsible for your injury. Negligence lies at the core of most personal injury claims. To succeed, you must show that the responsible party had a duty to act safely and failed to uphold that duty, resulting in the accident.

For example, if you slip and fall at a store because they didn’t clean up a spill, the store might be liable for your injuries. Or if a truck driver causes an accident due to distracted driving, the driver (or their employer) could be held responsible. Proving negligence, with the help of a truck accident lawyer, is key to securing compensation for your injury.

How the Severity of Your Injury Affects Your Settlement

The extent of your injury has a major impact on how your compensation is determined. Minor injuries, like sprains or small fractures, typically result in lower settlements. Catastrophic injuries, such as traumatic brain injuries or spinal cord damage, often lead to significantly higher compensation.

Severe injuries usually involve costly medical treatments, long-term care, and a reduced ability to earn income. When ongoing medical attention is required, your settlement must reflect those continuing expenses. The more life-changing the injury, the greater the potential compensation.

Key Factors That Influence Your Personal Injury Settlement

There are a number of factors that go into calculating your settlement. Here are a few of the most important:

• Medical Treatment and Prognosis

The nature and extent of your medical care play a major role in determining your settlement. Ongoing treatments, such as physical therapy or specialized surgeries, are factored into the compensation. If your injury requires lifelong care, those costs are also included in the settlement calculation.

• Lost Wages and Future Earning Capacity

Injuries that prevent you from working can greatly influence your settlement. Compensation can cover wages lost during recovery. If the injury limits your ability to work in the future, your potential earnings over time are also considered when calculating compensation.

• Evidence and Documentation

The strength of your claim depends on the evidence you can present. This may include accident reports, medical records, photos, witness statements, and any other information demonstrating your injury and the other party’s negligence. Thorough documentation increases the likelihood of receiving fair compensation.

The Personal Injury Settlement Process

So, how does the settlement process work? After the initial claim is filed, there’s a lot that goes on behind the scenes to calculate the right amount of compensation.

• Gathering Evidence

The first step is gathering all the necessary evidence, including photos, medical records, and witness statements. Your lawyer will help collect everything needed to support your case and prove the other party’s negligence.

• Calculating Damages

Next, your attorney will calculate both your economic and non-economic damages. This may involve consulting experts, using settlement calculators, and reviewing medical bills and lost wages to determine the total amount you’re owed.

• Demand Letter and Negotiation

Once your damages are calculated, a demand letter will be sent to the responsible party’s insurance company. This letter will outline your claim and the compensation you’re seeking. From there, negotiations typically begin. Insurance companies often try to give a lower settlement, but an experienced attorney will fight to ensure you get the full amount you deserve.

If negotiations don’t lead to a satisfactory offer, the case can go to litigation and proceed to court. However, most personal injury cases settle before reaching trial.

Why Choose Freeman Injury Law?

At Freeman Injury Law, we are committed to making the personal injury process as smooth as possible for our clients. We offer personalized service and make sure that every case is handled by an experienced attorney, never a paralegal or case manager. Our communication platform lets you message your lawyer and paralegal directly, so that you always have access to updates on your case.

If you’ve been injured and are seeking compensation, get in touch with us for a free consultation. We will help you understand how personal injury compensation is calculated and work tirelessly to secure the compensation you deserve.