How is a value placed on losses sustained in an automobile collision?
Being involved in an automobile collision is a frightening experience. The memory of the collision and the fear it engenders can remain with you for years. If you have been
injured in an automobile collision that is not your fault, the law requires the at fault driver’s insurance company to compensate you for what happened by paying you “fair,
just, and reasonable damages” for your losses. One person’s idea of what is “fair, just, and reasonable” may differ significantly from another’s. What goes into the determination? Here are some factors that are considered.
- How much physical damage was done to each car? For example, a fender bender is not treated as seriously as a collision that causes substantial damage to one or both of the cars.
- What injuries were sustained? For example, in most cases, a broken bone will be considered a more significant injury than a sprained neck or back.
- Is there a permanent injury? Some injuries clear up after several months; others may have an impact on you for the rest of your life.
- Have you missed time from work?
- Do you have out of pocket medical expenses?
- How are your symptoms and injuries described in your medical records? For example, did you tell a health care provider that your neck really hurts, but the entry in the medical record says you are continuing to improve?
- Do your medical records before the collision reflect normal age related changes to the parts of your body injured in the collision?
- How have the injuries affected your life? For example, are you back to the same routines you followed before the collision, or have things changed for you, even if only slightly?
Our job is to present your case persuasively to the other driver’s insurance company. If a reasonable settlement can not be negotiated with the insurance company, our job, then, is to present your case persuasively to the judge or jury who ultimately determines “fair, just, and reasonable damages” for your losses.