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How Do I Calculate My Personal Injury Claim?

A personal injury claim is an authorized case that allows a person to seek compensation after an accident caused by someone else's negligence. The process of claiming is formal and, most of the time, comes from the suspect’s insurance firm.

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Personal injury claims can be unsuccessful at times; when a person makes a claim, it is best to sign a no win, no fee agreement. This agreement means that they will have no upfront charges, and they incur no payment if they lose the claim.

When calculating for a personal injury in Des Moines, IA, there are steps a person needs to follow.

Calculating Personal Injury Claim

Steps in Calculating a Personal Injury Claim

Step One: Calculating the Amount of Money to Be Compensated

As the amount of money for compensation is calculated, a person should always know that a personal injury in Des Moines, IA varies from where the incident occurred. The injury can occur at work or elsewhere.

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Insurance companies and accident lawyers depend on different formulas to jump-start a personal injury claim settlement. They also look at the kind of injury and what caused the injury. If there is a bodily injury claim, both the insurance and lawyer can begin calculations from there. 

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The formula uses a multiplier and the medical expenses used during the injury treatment to add to the non-economic injuries. These non-economic injuries are pain and suffering, trauma, or mental health issues. It is an additional compensation value to an economic injury compensation claim like property damage, medical bills, and loss of income.

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The additional figure helps to increase the amount and create room for negotiations.

Step Two: Confirming with a Lawyer

Doing a personal claim calculation is not enough; the next step is to confirm with a Des Moines injury lawyer. Remember, the lawyer is also doing the calculation for a claim settlement using the same formula. 

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The prices can vary. A person in this situation should time and talk to the attorney regarding the details. With the findings, the attorney examines them and makes relevant changes before you proceed to make any necessary settlement demands.

Step Three: Damages and Multipliers 

Most calculations are done in this step. Claiming any personal injury loss through injury-related insurance or a personal injury lawsuit filed in a civil court is always placed in two categories.

 

  • Economic losses (special damages)

  • Non-economic losses (general damages)

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The economic losses or the special damages are losses that can be measured. These losses include

 

  • Medical bills(the cost of treatment of the injuries incurred resulting from the accident)

  • Property loss because of the damages that occurred to a property during the accident.

  • Income loss resulting from missed working hours

  • Other out-of-pocket losses

 

On the other hand, non-economic losses are the general losses that cannot be measured. These losses include

 

  • The pain incurred during the accident.

  • The suffering

  • The trauma

  • Mental distress

  • Discomfort

  • Other similar adverse effects of injuries

 

The multiplier helps a person get the actual value of the amount needed to be compensated from the overall damages incurred. The insurance adjuster adds up all economic damages and multiplies the total by a specific figure. The particular figure runs between 1.5 to 5 and is now called the multiplier.

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To help determine the multiplier, look at the number of specific facts to the claim. The facts depend on,

 

  • How bad the injury is

  • The number of medical treatments received

  • The number of treatments the person may receive in the future

  • If there is a possibility of a full recovery or not

  • If there are permanent or long-term effects from the accident

  • And many more.

 

Any multiplier used is a point of contention. A victim can insist on a higher multiplier, but the insurance adjuster demands a lower multiplier. 

 

After using the multiplier to reach a general loss amount, the victim can add the number to the special loss or economic loss because both that person and the adjuster get a better idea of the personal injury claim’s value. The calculation gives a starting point for a settlement talk.

Conclusion

Sometimes carelessness contributes to a personal injury. This does not mean that there might not be a claim, but it has a vast effect on settlement negotiations.

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During negotiations, the settlement reduces depending on a fault percentage. The reduction of the compensation varies with the state in which the accident happened. 

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The award of the settlement caused by negligence depends on these basic types of “contributory” and “comparative” rules.

 

  • Pure comparative negligence

  • Modified comparative negligence

  • Contributory negligence

 

If a person needs help with a claim, it is best to reach out to a professional lawyer who specializes in personal injury law. 

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