How to Value a Car Accident Injury

Valuating a car accident injury claim is not necessarily the determination of the injured driver, passenger, or pedestrian, but rather, the valuation assessed by an insurance company.  The process of any insurance company determining the value of claims is generally the same, which will include first establishing the exact damages sustained by an injured party, followed by proportional valuation of a claim based on fault.

Establishing Damages Applicable to Injuries

In a general sense, the term damages covers much greater numbers of expenses faced by injured parties following an accident, than one may initially consider.  With the assistance of an attorney, victims of a car accident injury can successfully file claims for the following damages, if applicable to their injuries and accident, including:

• Medical costs, which should include the immediate cost of treatment of injuries, but also, prolonged costs, including checkup visits, further procedures, and other types of medical treatment relevant to recovery from injuries specifically sustained during the car accident.  Obtaining future medical expenses, which is not as numerically documentable as past medical costs, requires an estimation of the future medical and rehabilitative costs of recovering from a given injury.  Having a medical professional or specialist outline a treatment plan, as well as affix a potential price tag on the recovery process is beneficial in substantiating damage claims.
• Losses in income or diminished earning capacity, which could include both temporary time off from a job to recover from injuries, as well as permanent physical or mental impairment preventing returning to a former work capacity, which causes the victim  financial losses both immediately and over the course of their lifetime.  To determine these figures, past earning records are used in all cases, but arguments regarding future earnings increases and other statements have been successfully made with an attorney’s assistance in the past.

The aforementioned costs are known as economic damages, which mean they have some formal process for attributing an at least estimated cost with the assistance of medical professionals.  The damages noted below are non-economic damages, which due to their very real, but subjective nature, are difficult to quantify financially.

• Pain, suffering, and mental anguish, which are often calculated by a jury using any number of factors and elements, but typically include, the nature of the injuries, the statements of medical professionals regarding the pain associated with an injury, and statements from psychologists and therapists regarding the mental state of an accident victim following the accident, as well as to date.
• Loss of consortium, which is a term describing the loss of company and enjoyment of married partners when one is injured in an accident.  These damages attempt to quantify financially the damage amount of loss of companionship, sexual relationships, assistance in the home, and other forms of interpersonal comfort.  These claims require documenting the relationship up to the point of an accident and assessing the potential damages as fallout from injuries sustained in an accident.

Getting Legal Help Determining the Amount of Recoverable Damages

Following any car accident injury, establishing a solid claims case requires legal intervention and planning.  The amount of recoverable damages, in theory, is based on the damages sustained by a victim in conjunction with their personal level of negligence.  However, in practice, and given the highly subjective approach  to determining non-economic damage claims, having legal counsel will always ensure a more beneficial outcome in the sped and amount of recovery of claims.