Calculating an Accident Injury Settlement Figure

If you've been in an accident, how do you know what would constitute an appropriate accident injury settlement?

To determine a fair settlement, add up the various damages you've suffered. The total settlement should be a summing up of the various damages, less any costs you'll avoid by not going to trial.

Past and present medical costs, lost wages, and other out-of-pocket expenses

The easiest damages to quantify are economic damages--how much you've had to pay because of an accident. Medical bills (including prescriptions and therapy) and lost wages will probably be the largest elements of these, but don't forget other costs. For example, have you had to hire a home aide? Do you need to take a taxi everywhere, because you can't drive? Have you performed renovations on your home to make it more handicapped accessible? All costs traceable to the accident are part of your economic damages.

Future economic damages

You can also collect for future costs, such as for continuing medical care, or for a dimunition in your earning power because you can no longer do your old job. These can be harder to quantify, but with some actuarial or expert help, you should be able to put a fairly reliable and definitive number on them. (Note: recovery for future costs will be "discounted to present value," which means to reduce them to reflect the fact that getting a dollar now is worth more than getting a dollar in ten years.)

Pain and suffering

You can also recover for your pain and suffering: disability, disfigurement, loss of a bodily function, inability to perform routine tasks or fully enjoy life. These can be very hard to quantify, but a way to come to a reasonable number is to to look up what's been recovered in lawsuits by people injured in similar ways.

There's a value to settling, not fighting

Lawyers are not free. Court costs, copying, transcripts, etc. are not free, either. And your time has a value--even if it's "just" the non-economic value of not having to spend it in your lawyer's office or court. Since settling rather than going to court will save you these things, it's fair for a settlement to reflect that by being less than what you might expect if you fought the case all the way out and won.

How a lawyer can help you

While the principal of valuing settlements is simple, in practice, it can be very hard. A lawyer who's experienced at this can help you better understand what your claim may be worth.

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