Personal Injury Settlement Calculator

LOCATION: Where Did the Accident Happen?

Location is very important when it comes to determining the value of a personal injury claim. As an example, let us consider two different accident scenarios:

Two individuals had identical car accidents and suffered identical injuries. But one accident took place in Montgomery County, AL, and the other took place in Autauga County, AL. The accident in Montgomery County, AL, on average, would be worth more than the identical accident in Autauga County, AL.

The differences from county to county affect the ways that juries in those places evaluate cases. Because of this fact, the location of an accident, which would affect the location of any potential litigation, would absolutely be a factor in evaluating a case’s value.

Accident Calculator Factors

The following are the criteria that you should ensure are being considered in order to properly evaluate your claim.

You can then total each of these factors to get an idea of what a fair settlement would be for your claim.

• Medical Expenses (Past and Future)
• Lost Wages (Past and Future)
• Pain and Suffering (Past and Future)
• Loss of Quality of Life (Past and Future)
• Disfigurement/Disability (Past and Future)

There is no “insurance injury calculator,” but there is precedent.

Though there is no exact way to calculate the value of any given personal injury claim, in most cases, there is precedent out there. By this, we simply mean that most types of accidents have happened before (if not exactly, significantly similar). Because of this, an experienced personal injury attorney will generally be able to determine whether a case has value.

Determining the value exactly, however, is another question entirely.

In Summary: Every Settlement Is Different!

Every accident is different. Every injury is different. Because of that, every settlement is different.

The ultimate point is: There is no simple accident calculator. Calculating the value of pain and suffering, not to mention the entire claim, can be a very complex process – we weren’t even able to cover all of the possible variables here.

For this reason, you should always talk to an experienced personal injury attorney to ensure you understand the full value of your case. To talk to a lawyer for free now, call Stokes Stemle, LLC. We will thoroughly assess your damages and guide you through negotiating your claim with the insurance companies. We demand the maximum value for your unique claim.

What Is Pain and Suffering? How Is the Value for Pain and Suffering Determined?

When you are involved in a motor vehicle accident, there are different types of damages that you may incur as a result:

There are quantifiable damages, which include property damage and medical costs, that simply need to be added together in order to calculate the total amount.

There are, however, less quantifiable damages that should be considered as well. These include pain, suffering, disfigurement, and disability, all of which are not as straightforward to determine value.

There are three common ways that pain and suffering are calculated:

• 
  The Multiplier Method With the multiplier method, the insurance claims adjuster will assign a “multiplier” to your claim, between 1 and 5. This number is based on factors such as the severity of your injury, the severity of the accident itself, and the effects of the accident on your life.
  
  The adjuster will then multiply the amount of your quantifiable damages (or special damages) by their determined multiplier to come up with the total value of your claim.
  
  Anything over the “special damages” is considered compensation for pain and suffering.
• 
  The Per Diem (or Per Day) Method With the per diem method, the insurance claims adjuster will assign a daily dollar rate for your pain and suffering. Then the adjuster will multiply that by the number of days that will elapse between the accident and when you are expected to fully recover.
  
  The daily rate is generally similar to the amount of your earnings, or a comparable figure. Essentially, they are assigning a daily rate to compensate you for pain and suffering.
• 
  Computer Software Many insurance companies now use a computer program that determines the value of your claim. These programs take several factors related to your pain and suffering into account in order to make their determination.
  
  The first two methods of calculating the value of pain and suffering that we mentioned (multiplier and per diem), though known by many, are rarely if ever used by insurance companies anymore. They are considered obsolete.
  
  This is because someone could have a broken arm and only $10,000 in bills, while another could have whiplash and also incur $10,000 in bills. Assume each person went to Baptist Hospital for all of their treatment. Which one would you award more money to or think deserves more compensation for pain and suffering? The broken arm, of course.
  
  Now take the same injuries and bills, but the broken arm was in a cast for 6 weeks while the person with whiplash saw a physical therapist two times a week for 6 weeks. Would it be fair to award both the same amount based on the amount of time that passed? Absolutely not.
  
  The point is: There is no simple pain and suffering calculator. You are always in a position to negotiate for a higher settlement for your personal injury claim regardless of which method of calculation they use. What is most important is for you to know what a fair settlement offer would be in order to ensure that you aren’t being taken advantage of by the insurance company.