Insurance companies have their own methods of calculating pain and suffering. However, in most cases, they use one of two methods:
- Method 1: The applicant must have suffered damage or loss caused by the accident. Examples of damage are lost wages and medical bills. The insurance company gives your pain a number between one and five, with “five” reserved for the most severe injuries. You add up the amount of money you lost in the collision and multiply it by that number.
For example, if you broke your arm in a collision and your medical bills rose to $ 3,000. You have told the insurer that your pain is equal to a “three”. Multiply $ 3,000 by 3 and you get $ 9,000 for your pain and suffering.
- Method 2: Using the daily rate method, the insurance company will charge an amount for your pain and suffering for every day you are in pain until you are fully recovered from your injuries. In most cases the amount is $ 100 per day.
Example: Your car accident happened on May 5th. They received a plaster cast and physical therapy for treatment. At the end of your treatment on October 20th, 169 days had passed. Using this method, you would multiply $ 100 by 169 days, which is $ 16,900.
Your insurance company will not necessarily use the methods described above to calculate your pain and suffering. Some companies leave these calculations to computer algorithms.
The computer knows that the insurance company has paid a sum of money to other claimants with similar violations in the past. Sometimes they use this amount to determine how much they should offer you for pain and suffering. The main disadvantage of this method is that the system is not flexible and it can be tampered with in favor of the insurance company.
If the compensation for your pain and suffering is too little, you can negotiate.
How does your attorney prove to a court that you are in pain and suffering?
A personal injury attorney cannot ensure you receive adequate compensation for pain and suffering if he or she does not convince the jury. It is easy for a jury to understand the damage in dollar terms, but it is not so easy for them to assess your physical pain and emotional suffering. Defenders take advantage of this fact.
If you want to make sure that the insurance company’s lawyers cannot cover up the fact that you are in pain, you need to be completely honest with your lawyer.
You have the opportunity to explain the extent of your injuries to the court. During the deposit, your lawyer may ask you to explain to the court how the accident changed your life. This is the time when you need to give a full account of what happened so that the court knows exactly what happened. Do not minimize your pain and losses, and never admit mistakes, even partially.
Hire a lawyer
You don’t have to hire a lawyer when dealing with an insurance company, but your chances of getting adequate monetary compensation for your pain and suffering are greatly increased when you do. Insurance claims handlers have incredible experience negotiating with claimants, and you may not have one.
Your plan is always to offer you a settlement that is much lower than you would get if you went to court, especially if it involves major property damage or serious injury. Never assume that the insurance company representatives are your friends. They can use anything you tell them against you later, including admitting that your injuries weren’t as severe.
Another thing to consider is how much you are going to charge the insurance company to pay you in compensation. In most cases, an experienced lawyer can bargain for more money than you could get on your own. Insurance companies know that being able to bring your case to court can mean additional costs for them. So when a personal injury attorney has your back, they’re more eager to get a fair deal with you.
It pays to hire a lawyer because when people have represented they have received an amount that was thousands and possibly millions of dollars less than they could have gotten if they had hired a lawyer (Source: https: / /dmillerlaw.com/areas-we) -serve / houston-tx / drunken-driver-accident-and-injury-lawyer /).
A skilled attorney will help you craft your testimonial so that the jury can easily understand that you are unable to do what you used to be able to do. Contact an attorney today.
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