What Is a Fair Settlement?

Whether caused by a car accident, a slip-and-fall, a defective product, or medical malpractice, when an injury occurs due to someone else’s careless or reckless actions, the injury victim doesn’t have to be left responsible for the consequences. Injuries are expensive as well as painful, especially if they disrupt the ability to work or accomplish routine daily tasks. Before beginning the process of a car accident claim or personal injury case, many injury victims ask, “What is a fair settlement for my case?”

How Common Are Settlements In Personal Injury Cases?

The vast majority of personal injury claims end with a settlement from the at-fault party’s insurance company. This may be auto insurance after a car accident injury, or commercial liability insurance after a slip-and-fall accident in a box store. Studies indicate that nearly 95% of injury claims are resolved with a settlement, so the injury victims don’t have to go to court. Only about one in twenty personal injury claims require courtroom litigation. Having a skilled attorney investigating the case and expertly negotiating with the insurance adjuster helps to maximize the chances of reaching an ample settlement agreement.

Most personal injury and car accident lawyers in South Jersey prepare a case as though for trial. This not only assists in presenting a strong case should the claim go to court, but it also conveys the serious intentions of the injury victim and the attorney to pursue the claim, making a more compelling case for a fair settlement.

How Do I Know If a Settlement Is Fair?

A skilled attorney carefully calculates an injury victim’s damages to maximize the amount they can recover in their claim. A fair settlement covers damages such as the following:

• Reimbursement for medical expenses already incurred, including emergency room and hospitalization bills, prescription costs, surgical expenses, physical therapy, and out-of-pocket expenses
• Future medical care costs based on a medical expert’s testimony about necessary medical care related to your injury
• Diminished future earning capacity if the injury caused disability
• Compensation for pain and suffering
• Compensation for any other damages that apply in your case, such as disfigurement, loss of limb, the loss of hearing or vision, the loss of an organ, or diminished quality of life/loss of enjoyment of life

When a preventable injury caused by someone else results in a loved one’s death, close family members may recover wrongful death compensation, such as loss of a provider’s income and benefits, funeral costs, and compensation for grief and anguish.

How Does a Personal Injury Lawyer Calculate Pain and Suffering?

While it’s relatively easy to add up damages like medical expenses and lost income, calculating a monetary amount for pain and suffering is more challenging. While financial compensation cannot erase pain, it provides the injury victim with a sense of justice.

A personal injury lawyer or car accident attorney consults with medical experts to determine the amount and duration of pain an injury victim can expect and the consequences of the pain on their life until they reach the maximum medical improvement for their injury. Then, there are two ways commonly used to arrive at a number:

• The multiplier method assigns a number between one and five based on the level of pain the injury involves and multiplies it by the total economic expenses of the injury to arrive at a total amount for pain and suffering
• The per-diem method assigns a daily monetary amount to the injury victim based on a medical expert’s evaluation of their pain and multiplies it by the number of days they can expect to feel pain until reaching maximum medical improvement

Pain and suffering damages substantially add to the total compensation an injury victim may recover in a fair settlement.

How Can a Personal Injury Lawyer Help My Case?

Insurance companies commonly protect their profits at the injury victim’s expense. Having an experienced personal injury attorney protecting your best interests throughout the process substantially increases the likelihood of receiving fair compensation through a settlement. Contact our South Jersey injury attorneys at Grungo Law to safeguard your rights and protect your best interests.