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Well, a personal injury calculation considers the short and long-term effects of the injury. It can be as simple as writing medical expenses for a simple treatment, or as hard as estimating how a head injury will affect you thirty years or from now. There is a lot to consider, and you ought to know how this can affect your claim.
Calculating personal injury compensation
For starters, calculating a personal injury compensation requires a professional eye. In other words, you should consider hiring a personal injury attorney to help you size up the right amount deserving of damages.
For example, if you had an auto accident, an experienced attorney will put significant effort into ensuring that negligent drivers pay up. The attorney will inquire about your condition and seek an expert’s opinion to arrive at a fair amount. The attorney will also deal with the parties at fault and the insurance companies that might propose unfair amounts or nothing at all.
Now, let’s breakdown how personal injury compensation calculations should be done to arrive at a fair amount:
- List the expenses of catering for injuries and damages
The first thing you should do is to note down the physical and non-physical injuries sustained after an accident or injury and their respective expenses. For example, how much will it cost you to repair the car, or treat the injury? If you have already paid for the expenses, keep the receipts and record the amounts. If you are unable to work, write about the lost wages.
If you must drive for ten miles for your special type of a car to be repaired, write about the travel and repair fees. If an accident led to death, write about the funeral expenses. If you need physical therapy to regain the functionality of your arms and legs, then also note down the costs.
You will also need to estimate the future effects of the injuries. Time is money, and if you are injured, a lot of it is lost. That means you should account for the lost time in the compensation claim.
For example, if the doctor has recommended four months of rest to ensure full recovery, how much income will you have lost? If you can only work for 4 hours a day for the next two months, how much will you lose the entire time? If your doctor has recommended check-up every two weeks for the next year, how much will you spend for the whole period?
If your loved one died eight years before the end of a contract because of a workplace hazard, how much money will you have lost? Depending on the injuries sustained, you may end up with a long list of expenses such as medical, car repair, and lost wages.
Your goal should be to confront the situation extensively, listing every bit of lost amount due to the injury.
- Use a multiplier to calculate non-physical damages
Other than the physical injuries, accidents leave victims with mental and emotional scars, which should be compensated. These include pain and suffering, inability to focus, trouble sleeping, emotional distress, inconveniences, lack of companionship, and others.
For example, if you have been involved in a car accident, you may experience difficulties sleeping at night. If you lose a breadwinner, you can be struck by grief, depression, and even suffer a blow to your finances. Don’t feel ashamed listing these struggles.
- Add the numbers
Now that you have the values of physical and non-physical damages proceed to add them up. That will be the figure of the claim unless you are partially to blame for the accident. In that case, a percentage of your contribution might get subtracted from the overall amount.
- If necessary, consider punitive damages
The courts determine punitive damages as punishment to the party at fault. For example, if a building owner knew that the floor was sinking but did not rectify, he or she may be charged for the negligence. Therefore, if you think that someone’s recklessness caused your injury, go ahead and include a category for punitive damages. You should, however, compile evidence for the case.
Calculating compensation by an insurance company
If you are calculating payment by an insurance company, you must consider the policy limits and the expenses termed ‘reasonable.’ Many times, if the value is within your limits, the insurer will compensate without resistance.
However, when the personal injury claim is higher than your insurance limits, you will have to cater for the finances. It can mean that you have go ahead and file a lawsuit against the party at fault.
Remember you don’t have to do this on your own. An attorney can help you do a proper estimation, negotiate on your behalf, or file a claim for a fair deal.
Final Remarks:
In conclusion, the effects of an injury are far too significant to be ignored. For that reason, you need to learn how to equate damages to monetary equivalents for the right compensation. A personal injury attorney will help calculate the equivalent compensation you deserve and fight for you to get it.