What is the Average Settlement for a Car Accident
Going through the traumatic experience of being in a car accident, no matter how minor it may seem to others, can be extremely stressful – not to mention, very expensive. Whether you caused the accident or not, you may be entitled to a settlement to help cover the costs of the accident.
The purpose of the settlement is to help cover the cost of medical bills and loss of wages or income but could also be required to cover other damages like emotional stress.
While most settlement amounts are determined based on expenses incurred to those injured, it may seem that no amount is really enough to cover the awful experience that you endured. It can also be difficult to determine an amount or estimate of the settlement as every car accident is different.
You can, however, get a ball park figure of what you may be owed following a car accident by considering some common factors that go into determining the settlement amount.
Estimating a Car Accident Settlement
While it is nearly impossible to know exactly, or sometimes even closely, what the amount will be, in many cases you can get an estimate by multiplying the medical costs and lost wages between 3 and 5 depending on severity.
Generally, the insurance company will take care of the upfront costs incurred such as medical bills, car repairs, etc. leaving the court to determine settlement for pain and suffering.
To get a specific amount, the judge considers the sort of injury diagnosed, type of treatment, length of treatment, crash severity, pre-existing conditions, & wage loss as a result of time spent in physical therapy or rehab and the hospital.
Naturally, in the case that you are not found to be guilty of causing the accident the settlement amount would be larger than if you were.
How to Calculate an Average Settlement Amount
Trying to calculate what your settlement amount would be can be tricky, especially if you have not completed all medical treatment. A settlement can’t be determined until all medical costs have been totaled which means all treatment would need to be concluded.
Once all medical treatment has been completed, you can calculate an average settlement amount for your car accident by adding up all of your medical bills and wages lost from incapacity to work, then multiplying it by three.
For instance, if you experienced a neck injury with medical bills at $4,000, missed work for two weeks costing around $2,000, the accident settlement value of the claim would be around $18,000.
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