4704 E. Southern Avenue | Mesa, Arizona 85206
How Much To Expect From A Car Accident Settlement
Are you searching for how much to expect from a car accident settlement? This post should help!
You can expect the average car accident settlement to be about $130,000. Car accident settlements ranged from $10,000 to $250,000 in the US for 2019.
One guideline for determining a car accident settlement is that the total will be right around 3 times the cost of your medical bills.
• $10,000 to $25,000 for minor injuries, such as soft tissue damage or whiplash
• $50,000 to $75,000 for long-lasting injuries that may require surgery or physical therapy
• $75,000 to $100,000 for spinal injuries that don’t result in paralysis
• $100,000 and $250,000 for brain injuries such as cognitive impairment, loss of brain function, requiring surgery
For debilitating injuries such as paralysis or severe brain injuries that require everyday assistance, settlements can cost well into the hundreds of thousands or even millions.
It is regrettable that some insurance policies do have limits. While the other driver may have had adequate insurance, you may not be compensated the full amount you are due because of their insurance limitations. If your insurance settlement should be worth $20,000, but they will only give up to $10,000, that could be all you’re awarded. You need to sue the other driver directly for the owed portion of your settlement.
If you were in a car accident, you’re most likely coping with medical bills, insurance payments, and emotional suffering. Car accidents seem to happen at the wrong time and can leave you dealing with issues that you never thought you would have to go through.
A car accident settlement can compensate you for the money that you’ve paid out. It can also account for lost wages, psychological or physical trauma and the cost of getting a replacement car.
Whiplash is the most common injury experienced in car accidents. Due to the nature of whiplash injuries (the delayed symptoms and the trouble of getting them documented), making your claim could be tough. To make sure you get your due settlement, you must document your symptoms to the best of your ability before planning to sue. Your lawyer will give the best advice when you pursue the matter.
As mentioned, whiplash is considered a ‘minor injury,’ with the average settlement amounting between $10,000 and $25,000. For mild cases of whiplash, the range is between $2,500 and $10,000. In the more severe cases, if the injuries need treatment such as ongoing physical therapy, the cost may be as high as $30,000.
Pain and suffering consists of the emotional distress brought on after you’re injured in an accident. Several aspects of distress that fall under pain and suffering include:
• Physical pain, both short-term and long-lasting
• Emotional and psychological disorders (depression, anxiety, PTSD, etc.)
• Physical restrictions (disabilities)
Calculating your pain and suffering can be carried out through several means. The easiest option is to total all of your bills, between medical expenses, therapy bills, lost wages, and vehicle damage. These are deemed Special Damages. Nevertheless, this is not the only approach you can use, as those bills are different from your personal pain and suffering, which are General Damages.
To correctly calculate your pain and suffering, you have to determine what grouping your pain and suffering falls under Existing pain and suffering, or existing and future pain and suffering. The first will include your pain and suffering until the completion of your medical treatment. The second extends into the not too distant future. As you would expect, your insurance claim will be higher for existing and future pain and suffering.
Lawyers and insurance adjusters determine your pain and suffering by using the multiple methods. In this case, they take your Special Damages and multiply it 1 to 5 times, depending on the seriousness of your case. In a case that involves whiplash, your multiplier may come between 1 and 3. If you have broken bones, the multiplier would be 3 to 5. More severe injuries like brain damage justify a multiplier of 5 or higher.
The amount of your settlement you receive, to a large extent, depends on getting the right legal help. At The Bradshaw Law Firm we will ensure you have the finest comprehensive representation. Every year we help our clients that have been in a car accident get the legal results and compensation they deserve. If you need help with a car accident settlement, speak with our car accident lawyers in Mesa and we can help you with the right legal advice so you can move on with your life.
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4704 E. Southern Avenue
Mesa, Arizona 85206
The Bradshaw Firm, PLC is located in Mesa, AZ and serves clients in and around Higley, Gilbert, Queen Creek, Mesa and Chandler.
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