To determine what your claim is worth, you must first know the things for which you are entitled to compensation. Usually, a person who is liable for an accident.
More about Personal Injury
What
an Insurance Company Must Cover
The liability insurance company -- must pay an injured person for:
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medical care and related expenses
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income lost because of the accident, because of time spent unable to work or undergoing treatment for injuries
permanent physical disability or disfigurement -
loss of family, social, and educational experiences, including missed school or training, vacation or recreation, or a special event
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emotional damages, such as stress, embarrassment, depression, or strains on family relationships -- for example, the inability to take care of children, anxiety over the effects of an accident on an unborn child, or interference with sexual relations
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damaged property.
Demystifying the Damages Formula
When determining compensation, it is usually simple to add up the money spent and money lost, but there is no precise way to put a figure on pain and suffering or on missed experiences and lost opportunities. That's where an insurance company's damages formula comes in
At the beginning of claim negotiations, an insurance adjuster adds up the total medical expenses related to the injury. These expenses are referred to as "medical special damages" or simply "specials." That's the base figure the adjuster uses to figure out how much to pay the injured person for pain, suffering, and other non-monetary losses, which are called "general" damages.
The adjuster multiplies the amount of special damages by 1.5 or 2 when the injuries are relatively minor, or up to 5 when the injuries are particularly painful, serious, or long-lasting. (The multiplier may be as great as 10 in extreme cases.) The adjuster then adds on any income lost as a result of the injuries.
That's all there is to the formula. However, this figure -- medical specials multiplied by a number between 1.5 and 5, then added to lost income -- is not a final compensation amount buy only the number from which negotiations begin.
Determining the Correct Multiplier
Several things determine the multiplier -- the number usually between 1.5 and 5 -- that the insurance adjuster applies to the special damages in your claim. Here are some general guidelines.
The
more painful the injury, the higher the multiplier.
The more invasive and long-lasting the medical treatment, the higher the multiplier.
The more obvious the medical evidence of the injury, the higher the multiplier.
The longer the recovery period, the higher the multiplier.
The more serious and visible any permanent effect of the injury, the higher
the multiplier.
The more of your treatment you receive from a physician or at a hospital --
or opposed to physical theropy, chiropractic, and other non-MD treatment --
the higher the multiplier.
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Practice
Notes on Personal Injury Litigation 3/e Book
Description Although aimed at practitioners this book gives a short, succinct and clear guide to the subject and will assist insurers, trade union officials and anyone who needs to understand the personal injury process. |
| Synopsis This latest addition to the Cavendish Practice Notes series is basic and clear outline of personal injury practice and procedure,and includes discussion of recent developments such as the Pre-Action Protocols, the Civil Procedure Rules and Conditional Fee Agreements. As well as setting out the procedural requirements, accompanied by useful checklists, Practice Notes on Personal Injury deals with all important issues of liability, including product liability and clinical negligence. A novel development in a book of this size is a list of website addresses that may be of direct use to personal injury practitioners. Although aimed at practitioners, the book will assist insurers, trade union officials and anyone who needs to understand the personal injury process. |
