Injuries are the bane of every athlete’s existence and there is perhaps no place more common to get hurt in daily life than while driving your car. About 6 million car accidents take place every year and of those about 3 million victims come away with serious injuries. Accident Injuries
If you were injured in a car accident recently and are in the process of reaching a settlement, you may be wondering what your accident injuries could be worth financially. After all, you likely have bills to pay that you’re having trouble keeping up with given the post-accident pain that you’re harboring.
While there’s no one size fits all way to know exactly what your attorney and opposing parties will agree to when it comes to compensation, below is some guidance that can help you arrive at an estimate.
First, Calculate Your Lost Daily Wages
A lot of the accident injuries payout puzzle is going to be based on how much you’d be making per day if you weren’t dealing with your trauma. This is often referred to as “earning potential” or “lost wages”.
For example, if you’d typically make 200.00 dollars per day at an office job during the week and can’t work due to your injuries, your lost wages would be set by your attorney at that number times however many days you’re unable to work.
Next, Tally Up Your Damages
Damages are pretty easy to calculate. Simply look over the bills that you’ve received as a result of your accident injuries.
These damages can extend from money you’ve needed to put into your car, to medical expenses from seeing a car accident doctor and beyond.
Work Out Pain and Suffering
When it comes to accident injuries, the hardest figure to work out is pain and suffering. This line-item is highly subjective and consequently, will likely be the source of much push and pull between your lawyer and opposing parties.
Pain and suffering have historically been calculated using the “3x method”. This method takes your lost wages, adds them to your damages and multiplies that figure by three.
Let’s say you were out of work for 90 days at $200.00 per day and incurred $3000.00 worth of damages. The 3x method would ask opposition for a total settlement of $63,000.00. Again, the opposition will likely push back on this number but it serves as a jumping-off point for your lawyer during negotiations.
What You’ll Get in Compensation for Accident Injuries Hinges on Your Representation
Never underestimate the value of having good representation in your corner when it comes to accident injuries. At the end of the day, your lawyer’s ability to negotiate will have a huge impact on the total settlement you walk away with.
Our team wishes you the best of luck when it comes to finding legal representation and getting the money you’re entitled to. When you’re back in fighting shape, check out more of the sport, health and lifestyle content we have available in our digital publication.
