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Attaching a dollar value to your pain and suffering after a car accident is hard. You may not know the full extent of your injuries and the long-term impacts the accident will have on your life. Unfortunately, many insurance companies will work to pay as little compensation as possible, even making settlement offers that don’t fully cover your injuries and damages. Hiring a Washington, DC car accident attorney is crucial to ensuring you receive a fair settlement for your car accident.
At Regan Zambri Long PLLC, our legal team knows you have more on your mind than just the car accident settlement. We’ll handle your case with compassion and commitment, fighting on your behalf until we’ve won you a fair settlement or verdict. Call today for your free case review.
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According to the National Safety Council, the average economic cost of a car accident varies from $4700 for property damage only to $1,750,000 in the event of a death. Determining the value of a car accident settlement begins with an inventory of your economic losses and non-economic damages. Once you’ve taken inventory, you will have a general idea of the financial impact of the car accident case and how much compensation you should claim.
Economic losses are the easier part of your settlement calculations, in theory. Economic loss refers to any specific financial expense or loss, such as medical expenses, property damage, and lost wages.
After adding up your current economic losses, you must consider what future losses and expenses will be critical. Continued medical care will mean future medical bills, which should be compensated.
Non-economic damages are hard to calculate because they are not tangible bills or expenses. These damages are for things such as pain and suffering. For example, if you were in a car accident and are now facing severe anxiety that keeps you from driving, that suffering would be non-economic damage (and bills from a therapist to work through the anxiety would be an economic loss).
Typically, an insurance adjuster will take the value of the economic losses and multiply the total by a number between 1.5 and 5, depending on facts, including how severe the injuries are, how much medical treatment is expected, the likelihood of a full recovery, and long-term and permanent effects.
The number used for calculating these damages will be a central point of contention in your car accident settlement, so having an experienced attorney is essential.
You shouldn’t choose a multiplying number at random or the highest number simply because it’s the highest. Your best chance at successful negotiation will come from being honest about the extent of your injuries and losses and choosing a fitting number.
The car accident attorneys at Regan Zambri Long will help you review your losses and damages and determine the most appropriate multiplier for your case. The more severe or permanent your injuries, the longer the recovery time, the more intensive the medical treatment, and/or the more painful your injuries are, the higher the multiplier should be.
You would use a lower number if you only suffered a whiplash car accident injury, but you might use a middling number if you suffered broken bones or a concussion. A permanent disability or lost limb would require a high multiplier.
These calculations will give you a starting place for negotiations with the insurance company. Remember, even if you didn’t pay costs out of pocket or had PTO benefits to cover lost income, you are still entitled to financial compensation for those costs and losses.
Making these calculations can be overwhelming, but the car accident attorneys at Regan Zambri Long are here to help. During your free case evaluation, your attorney will work with you to begin calculating how much compensation you are owed. Call us today at 202-960-4596 to schedule your consultation and take the first step in your settlement claim.
Trusting that a settlement offer is fair and reasonable would be nice. But the unfortunate reality is that, sometimes, insurance companies will offer the least amount they think they can get away with, offering an unfair settlement. You should not accept a settlement offer without consulting your attorney. Often, the first offer is unfair and a starting place for negotiations.
A fair settlement offer will, first and foremost, cover all existing expenses and losses. All your medical bills, lost income, and property damage costs should be included in a fair settlement. Once you are sure those things are included, you should consider how much is being offered to cover future expenses (continued treatment, compensation for permanent disability or treatment) and how much compensation is offered for the mental and emotional suffering the accident caused.
The best way to know if a car accident settlement is fair is to consult with a qualified car accident attorney. At Regan Zambri Long, our personal injury lawyers have decades of cumulative experience with car accident cases. If you have already started the process and received a settlement offer, a car accident lawyer at Regan Zambri Long will review the car accident settlement offer with you and help you determine if it is a fair offer or if you are entitled to more. Schedule a free case evaluation with an experienced lawyer to discuss the facts and value of your case.
For the most success in negotiating a settlement claim with a car insurance company, you’ll want to hire a qualified DC personal injury lawyer with a track record of satisfied clients.
The personal injury attorneys at Regan Zambri Long have been handling car accident claims for decades and can bring their cumulative experience to bear on your car accident injury settlement negotiations. Our team will help you write your claim letter, detailing the compensation you deserve from the accident and assigning a dollar value to your damages. We will patiently and persistently pursue your claim through counteroffers until we receive an offer that meets your approval and financial needs.
The car accident attorneys at Regan Zambri Long are ready to take on your case. We’ve made multi-million dollar recoveries for car accident victims throughout DC. We are committed to pursuing the maximum amount possible for you so that you can afford to recover from your accident fully.
Call us today at 202-960-4596 to schedule a free case evaluation. We don’t take any fees until we’ve recovered in your favor, so you can schedule your consultation with confidence.
