Accidents are sudden, devastating, and life-altering. People who get involved in accidents often face various types of damages, such as physical injuries, mental trauma, emotional distress, and financial hardship. Getting back to their old routine is impossible for many, and those who can often have to build from scratch.
The devastation that one faces after an accident caused by another individual can be much more. However, there is a way for victims of accidents to get support for their losses. The law allows accident victims to file a legal claim against the person at fault for an accident, giving them the opportunity to get the assistance they need to get back to their new normal.
Getting trusted legal support for personal injury cases is also crucial, as lawyers provide accident victims with the necessary guidance to ensure they get their rightful compensation. If you are a victim of an accident, this blog will help you get an idea of how to estimate the true worth of your PI case. Let us take a look at the types of damages that can be covered under a PI claim.
Damages You Can Be Compensated For
- Medical Expenses: A victim of personal injury can claim damages for any of the medical expenses caused by the accidents. This includes all of the current and possible future expenses that arise.
- Lost Wages: Being injured, going for routine checks, resting, etc., will require the victim to take many leaves, reducing the pay they get. Lost wages damages allow victims to get compensation for the wages they lost.
- Pain and Suffering: As the accident also has physical, emotional, and mental effects, the victim can also claim compensation for all the pain and suffering they had to endure.
- Loss of Consortium: This compensation is awarded to the partner of the victim as compensation for the loss of companionship, support, and intimacy.
- Loss of Enjoyment of Life: Suppose an injury decreases the quality of one’s life; they can ask for damages for loss of enjoyment of life.
How to Estimate PI Claim Damages
There are two types of compensatory damages that are offered under personal injury claims: economic damages and non-economic damages; let’s see how you can estimate your settlement based on these damages.
Economic Damages
Economic damages aim to compensate you for the financial losses that you incurred, such as your medical expenses, lost wages, loss of income potential, and property damage.
You can just provide all your compiled bills and an estimation of how much future medical expenses may cost for medical expenses, and provide your pay stubs, employer letters, tax documents, invoices, or business records to prove your lost wages.
For property damage, suppose it is totaled; though you bought the property for a certain amount, you will be required to determine the fair market value before the crash; if it requires just repairs, you can check repair estimates or receipts. Loss of income potential can be a bit trickier, it is usually done with the help of vocational experts and economists who evaluate your age, occupation, skills, pre-injury income, and how your condition limits future employment, then they calculate it by also including raises, benefits, and inflation over time.
Finally, all of the amounts need to be added together to get the economic damages compensation estimate.
Non-Economic Damages
Non-economic damages are the compensation you can avail for intangible losses, such as pain and suffering, loss of consortium, and loss of enjoyment of life. However, as these losses can vary, the legal system follows two methods to estimate non-economic damages:
The Multiplier Method
Under this method, the amount of economic damages the victim is to receive is multiplied by a specific number. This number is usually between 1.5 and 5, assigned according to the extent of the injuries, the seriousness of the accident, and many other factors. The sum of these two is then set as the amount to be paid as non-economic damages.
Economic damages x Assigned number (1.5 – 5) = Non-economic damages.
The Per Diem Method
Under this method, the number of days the victim has or is estimated to live through said damages is multiplied by a specific amount. The method basically gives value to each day the victim suffers, giving meaning to the name “per diem.” The number that is assigned is usually something like their daily wages, but it can be modified for factors like the seriousness of the accident, the extent of the injuries, etc.
Number of days x Assigned number = Non-economic damages.
