How is pain and suffering calculated? Insurance companies commonly utilize a couple of formulas to know pain and suffering with regard to a car accident case. The most common methods that people are using can be the multiplier or per diem method.
This might be a complicated process because the value is considered a non-economic award that is not that palpable. Some examples of it are medical and repair bills.
The effects of a car accident may result in hospital confinement. This does not include the tests that are needed to diagnose your condition properly. As a result, the process can take a few weeks or even several months to finish which will affect the income of the affected individual.
It can affect both the physical and mental well-being of the person involved regardless if they are at fault or not. The insurance company uses various criteria in computing the pain and suffering present due to the incident.
All About Pain and Suffering
When it comes to pain, we can consider both physical and emotional trauma. There are injuries that might leave the victim paralyzed and you do not want it to happen. In case you are already in that situation, trauma is another thing to put in mind aside from the physical damage inflicted by the accident.
Well, nobody wants to be in a traumatic situation. So it is really important to calculate the pain and suffering correctly to ensure that the right amount of compensation will be given.
You might be wondering how insurance companies calculate pain and suffering. They do a lot of analysis in order to find answers.
What to do after an accident?
When the accident just happened, you’ll not be able to think about settlement right away. It is all about how you will deal with the injury right away. This will make sure that the injury in case present will not worsen.
Focusing on how you can get medical treatment as soon as possible. It is only after you are out of danger is the time that you should think about settlement. As a matter of fact, the medical records will be the basis of the fair amount that you should get as a settlement.
However, if you do not have a severe injury because of the accident, it is not the reason why you should never see a doctor. You will still need to be evaluated by a medical doctor in case you need to pursue a settlement to the damages inflicted by the accident.
It is suggested that you take note of all of the symptoms carefully. This includes the ones you immediately experienced after the accident and the following days. You can use the evaluation as evidence that you really had some injuries.
There might be issues on your health that do not show up immediately after an accident. So it is a great measure to check yourselves carefully several days after the accident if there is something unusual. This must be documented as well along with the immediate symptoms that you have experienced.
The Determining Factors
There are various factors that comprise the amount of compensation that an individual must receive.
- Hospital records including bills
- Images of your injury
- Prescribed medicines
- Other official receipts related to the injuries
- Payslip and other work-related documents
This only entails that you must take good care of all the injury-related documents that you have. It will surely speed up the process of your settlement claim.
The Methods
There are different methods to calculate pain and suffering and two of them are the most commonly used methods. Namely, the multiplier and per diem methods are the most precise and we will give you a brief overview of them.
Per Diem Method
When it comes to this method, a dollar value is tagged only for a day of damages. It will be multiplied by the days wherein you were affected by the injury.
Multiplier Method
It can be a daunting task to compute the pain and suffering of an individual due to an accident. Intangible damages are then determined through this multiplier method. You will need to get the sum of the damages and multiply it using a number between 1.5 and 5. The last number represents the intensity of pain and suffering that you are experiencing.
The higher the number, means that the intensity of pain and suffering is more severe. A rating of 5 can indicate a disastrous impact on your life that resulted after the accident.
What’s Next?
If you suffered because of an accident, remember that there is only a limited time for you to file a personal injury case. You must be aware that every state might have a different rule on that subject matter. However, for ordinary people like you, it would be very difficult to understand the whole process. Having said so, you will need to have someone to guide you just like Rawlins Law.
Rawlins Law has been providing expert legal advice particularly when it comes to personal injury cases. We offer a free consultation to help you out with your legal concerns. Our team has the expertise to handle personal injury cases with higher chances of success compared to our competitors. Don’t delay in calling an attorney to ensure you are protected. Know your rights and protect yourself.
Call Rawlins Law at 858-529-5872.
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