Boston Injury Attorney Blog
About 276 million cars are on the roads in the US today – with almost 222 million registered drivers, it makes the US’s lanes as one of the busiest roads in the world. Yet, with technological advancement, comes the risk. Hence, the fatality rate and accident ratio are also very high keeping in view the injury statistics.
While most insurance claims consist of a small car accident with a huge truck or trailer, etc, the possibilities are endless. Hence, despite the advent of advance car security systems, approximately 6.3 million automobile accidents take place each year in the US. So, the question arises, who takes responsibility for the damages in such accidents?
Settlement Cases for Automobile Accidents
With over 3 million accident victims rushing to the emergency rooms, and the rest with permanent damages/injuries, the US has evolved a system of repatriation which consists of a labyrinth of insurance companies paying billions of dollars in personal injury law claims.
So, if you or a loved one has been injured in a car accident, you may want to know how to evaluate how much of the damage would be covered by your insurance provider. This article deals with how insurance companies determine the claims amount.
How Your Insurance Adjuster Determines Your Personal Injury Settlement Amount
Just like an attorney, your insurance adjuster would put a value to your claim based on their projection of your injuries i.e., when a plaintiff (in this case you) would win an insurance claim at a trial, you’d be compensated for various types of damages such as personal injury, car renovation, social security during the time you can’t work, etc.
The Auto Accident Settlement Formula in Boston
If you’ve been involved in an ugly Boston auto accident, here’s how your insurance adjuster will be determining the total repatriation amount literally.
Special Damages + Multiple Reflecting Damages + Lost Wages = Total Settlement Amount
In addition to the mathematical calculations, an insurance adjuster would look at one or all of the following points to calculate your total settlement amount:
- Getting the Insured Plaintiff’s Story: You would be required to give an account of the whole accident as a third party, where parts or whole of your claim may be compare with other accounts of possible witnesses or police reports.
- Requesting Documentation: In addition to the accident narrative, you may also be required to produce medical bills, income proofs, tax returns, damage to self or property (e.g., your car), or damage to other members involved in the accident to your car. However, in case your insurance adjuster sees your medical treatment as ‘soft’ they could reduce your total settlement amounts. For instance, if your total medical bill is $7500 but $6500 of it involved chiropractic and physiotherapy treatments, then your insurance provider will slash the total reparable amount to half. Hence, it is essential that you discuss with your car accident attorney the right kind of treatment for full compensation in a car accident
- Visible vs Non-evident Damages: An insurance adjuster should ideally look at both obvious physical damages and future possible financial/emotional damages caused from the accident. Furthermore, a plaintiff is also allowed to claim for possible financial losses due to an inability or reduced ability to take up work that you could perform ‘before’ the accident.
**In case of death of one or more family members involved in the accident, the insurance adjuster may include funeral ceremony amounts in total settlement damages to the plaintiff. Similarly, for possible losses to physical health such as a limb or an arm, etc, the insurance adjuster has to take into account all current and future costs of treatment and care.
Do You Have to Accept Your Settlement Offer Given by Your Insurance Provider?
While the insurance providers always look for ways to minimize the amount payable to you in such cases, we suggest that you hire Boston accident lawyers who have dealt with hundreds of thousands of personal injury claims in such cases. A professional attorney knows all the ways to avoid the accident victim from being manipulated into being paid less by their insurance providers than they deserve. Hence, you could always reject the first settlement offer and work with your car accident attorney in Boston to prepare a more workable solution in your total settlement amount i.e., the second settlement offer.
You can contact our experienced personal injury attorneys if you have been involved in a car accident in Massachusetts!