When you are involved in a car accident, the first step in negotiating a settlement for your claim involves calculating a reasonable amount of money that would be fair enough for damages suffered. Most auto insurance companies and car accident attorneys use different formulas to get a good starting point for settlement talks.
A good auto accident settlement formula usually employs a multiplier and incurred medical expenses to estimate non-economic damages such as pain and suffering. The figure is added to your economic losses to get a specific dollar amount from which your attorney can negotiate.
Doing all these things manually isn’t feasible. That is why we have developed a simple personal injury settlement calculator to make things pretty easy and straightforward for you. This article explains what our car accident payout calculator does in detail.
Personal Injury Compensation Calculator
The truth is that many factors go into determining an appropriate settlement amount for any personal injury claim. So, whatever you get from our personal injury compensation calculator should only serve as a starting point for your negotiations with the auto insurance company.
Ensure you talk to an experienced car accident attorney in your area about the specific details of your case before you start making any settlement demands to the insurance company or the at-fault driver. You can click here to get connected with a qualified car accident attorney.
When you key in the figures and click on the “Calculate My Estimate” button, our unique formula kicks in and gives you an estimated value of the claim based on the information you have provided.
Basically, you will receive a dollar amount representing both economic and non-economic losses suffered during the accident.
Keep in mind that when you are involved in a car accident and you suffer injuries, the losses suffered can be categorized into two groups, namely:
- Special damages: These are losses that are relatively easy to quantify. They include hospital expenses, lost income due to missed work, property damage, and any other quantifiable losses suffered.
- General damages: These damages cannot be quantified. Most of them fall under pain and suffering, which relates to anxiety, emotional stress, physical discomfort, loss of enjoyment of life, and similar negative effects of car accident-related injuries.
So, how do you put a dollar amount on the non-quantifiable damages suffered as a result of the accident? Let us find out.
Pain and Suffering Calculator
Our injury settlement calculator uses a multiplier to help estimate the value of your non-economic losses. In this case, we add up all of your economic damages (because they are quantifiable) and then multiply the total by any number between 1.5 and 5. This is what we refer to as a multiplier.
The multiplier is usually lower or higher depending on your accident’s circumstances. How bad are your bodily injuries? How much treatment have you already received? How much treatment will you need in the future? Can you make a full recovery from the injuries? Will you be left with any permanent or long-term effects? How has the accident affected your daily life?
In short, many factors determine the multiplier. The more severe your injuries are, the higher the multiplier.
However, you need to keep in mind that the insurance company will most likely contest the multiplier your attorney chooses but with solid evidence, you can always argue for a higher multiplier.
When both parties agree upon the multiplier, it will be multiplied by your special damages estimate to arrive at the actual value of your claim. Combining all these figures gives you a general idea of the value of your car accident claim.
Auto Accident Settlement Formula
Apart from the multiplier auto accident settlement described above, your attorney may also choose to use the Per Diem method.
In this case, the term “per diem” stands for “per day.” Basically, this settlement formula determines the overall settlement amount by evaluating how much compensation you deserve to receive daily.
To arrive at a specific figure, three questions must be answered: How long have you suffered as a result of the accident? How long will you continue suffering? How much pain do you have to live with going forward?
Your attorney will evaluate your regular income/salary to establish a reasonable amount of money for daily compensation. The principle behind this car accident settlement formula is that living with pain is comparable to a day’s work.
For instance, in 2021, there were approximately 261 working days. Assuming the victim makes $60,000 per year, the daily value will be roughly $230.
So, if the car accident sets back the victim for 100 working days, that will be multiplied by $230 to arrive at a compensation amount of $23000.
The per diem auto accident settlement formula only makes sense for short-term injuries due to how parties quantify the exact number of days the injury may last.
Injured in a Car Accident? Use Our Personal Injury Settlement Calculator to Estimate Your Claim Value
Have you or your loved one been involved in an auto accident and want to know the value of your claim? Feel free to use our calculator to get an estimate.
Our primary goal is to give you a close estimate of the actual value of your auto accident claim. This includes car accidents, truck accidents, motorcycle accidents, commercial truck accidents, and nearly any other type of moving vehicle.
Our car accident payout calculator can even be applied to other kinds of accidents not mentioned above. So, what is the value of your claim? Find out here.
Disclaimer
Using our car accident payout calculator doesn’t form an attorney-client relationship. Even though we stand by the quality of our payout estimate, don’t expect that what the calculator says is what you will get.
We appreciate that every case is different, and your payout will depend on a wide range of factors unique to your lawsuit. If everything was as easy as keying in a few figures in a calculator and getting the accurate payout amount as feedback, we wouldn’t need car accident attorneys and insurance adjusters.
So, keep in mind that whatever you receive is only an estimate, but you still need to hire an experienced attorney to fight for your rights and help you obtain the rightful compensation you deserve!
