When people suffer a personal injury in a car crash or some other type of accident, one of the first questions they have is, “How much is my claim worth?”
This causes many injury victims to look for answers online. They may use an online calculator. While personal injury settlement calculators may provide a broad estimate on your claim’s worth, it can be difficult to get an accurate idea without consulting a licensed lawyer.
If you want to learn what your claim might be worth, contact the law offices of Anderson & Cummings. Our lawyers are committed to protecting the rights of injured victims throughout Texas by seeking the maximum compensation available.
How Are Claims Calculated?
If you were injured in an accident, you will likely have suffered from both economic and non-economic damages. Economic damages are those that have a definitive monetary value. Some examples of economic damages include medical bills, lost wages and property damage.
However, non-economic damages are not as easy to calculate. These damages are for the amount of pain and suffering you endured at the time of the accident and during the healing process. Non-economic damages may include physical pain and psychological suffering such as mental/emotional trauma, fear, depression, anxiety, loss of enjoyment of life if you became physically impaired or disfigured, and loss of companionship if a loved one died in the accident.
An experienced lawyer who has handled these types of cases in the past will know how to determine the value of the damages you suffered.
What is the Multiplier Method?
The multiplier method is used by most lawyers and insurance companies to calculate non-economic damages, such as pain and suffering. This method is based on the belief that injuries which require more intensive medical care with heftier medical costs after a serious accident, may require a larger multiplier to determine the claim’s worth.
For example, if your health care expenses after a car crash are $8,000 and you lost $2,000 because you were forced to miss work, your lawyer will add these two figures for a total of $10,000. He or she will then multiply this total by a number between one and five, with five being the most extreme. If we used three in this case, the total amount would be $30,000 in damages.
Although rare, if the at-fault driver was found to be intoxicated at the time of the crash, the multiplier could be greater than five. On the other hand, if you were found to be partially at fault for the accident, the multiplier could be lowered to a two or a one.
Problems with Trusting Online Settlement Calculators
Using an online settlement calculator is not a good option for many reasons. Simply punching in numbers leaves out many important factors that are not included in the formula and could dramatically change the claim’s value.
Since no two cases are the same, there are many different factors that could come into play and have an effect on the value of your case. Even if two people sustained the same injury, one’s case could be worth more than another’s, depending on how quickly he or she recovers and how he or she responds to treatment.
If you do use an online calculator, you may not be happy with the results and this may cause you to give up on the idea of pursuing compensation. Conversely, if the calculator overestimates your claim’s worth, you could end up disappointed with what you receive if your claim is successful.
Seek Assistance from a Licensed Attorney
To get a more reasonable idea on how much compensation you may be able to obtain from your injury claim, we suggest discussing your accident with an experienced attorney from Anderson & Cummings.
Our firm has over 50 years of combined legal experience and has recovered over $100 million in compensation on behalf of our past clients.
You can schedule a Free Case Evaluation with our firm to determine whether you may be eligible for compensation. You will not be required to pay any attorney fees unless we obtain compensation for you. There is no obligation needed on your part and your information is always kept private so there is no risk in giving us a call today.
Anderson & Cummings. Aggressive. Trusted. Experienced. Ph: (817) 920-9000