After you have been injured in an accident, you have the right to seek compensation for your damages. These damages are not just the amount of money you lost having to pay for medical expenses and vehicle repairs, but also the physical pain and emotional suffering you experienced. However, it can be quite difficult to quantify pain and suffering. So how exactly do you ensure you’re getting a fair value for the pain and suffering damages you’ve been forced to endure?
Insurance companies typically calculate noneconomic damages like pain and suffering by using a multiplier. They typically assign larger multiplying values to cases involving more serious injuries. For example, if the losses in your case were $50,000, the adjuster could assign a multiplier of 3 to your case for pain and suffering damages of $150,000.
The problem with the multiplier method is that not everyone deals with pain or recovers in the same way. Therefore, you want to make sure you don’t settle too early and risk missing out on the amount of compensation you deserve. You should wait to negotiate your settlement until your doctors are certain you have fully healed, or reached your maximum point of recovery. You will also want to tell the adjuster exactly how the accident has since affected your life, especially in the following cases:
- You are unable to enjoy your life the way you once did
- You are still in constant pain and receiving medical attention
- You face long-term or permanent inability to return to previous jobs or activities
- You cannot perform certain everyday tasks
- Your family has also suffered as a result of your injuries
Keep in mind it can take months or more than a year for you to reach your maximum point of recovery, which is one of the reasons why personal injury claims tend to take so long. But your patience will likely be rewarded with a larger settlement value.
For more information on negotiating a settlement in a personal injury claim, speak with a knowledgeable North Carolina attorney at Lanier Law Group.