Suffering a personal injury can have devastating consequences depending on the severity of the injury and its effect on your life. Specifically calculating personal injury damages, however, can get very confusing very quickly. It helps to have a trained personal injury attorney on your side to help guide you through the process.
The attorneys at the Tatum Law Firm have quite a lot of experience handling personal injury cases, and we would like to be the ones to represent you and advocate on your behalf as you focus on recovery. In this regard, we offer the following tips for you when deciding how you want to proceed with your lawsuit.
How to Calculate Personal Injury Damages
There are many factors that go into even the most common personal injury suit. Perhaps the biggest factor is the kind of injury itself. These can range from moderate to severe, with the worst cases resulting in temporary or permanent disability that could keep you out of work for the rest of your life. As a result, there are a variety of ways to calculate how a given injury and its aftermath can lead to future damages.
The following three calculation methods are the most common:
#1 Multipliers
At the start of your case, you will have to estimate the cost of your special damages: usually financial losses in the form of medical bills or lost wages. You then multiply this number by a multiplier, which is typically a number between 1 and 5. This multiplier can vary depending on the severity of the injury or other extant factors.
#2 Per Diem
In a per diem calculation, an amount is multiplied by the number of days during which you have suffered pain. This includes days into the future, as based on your life expectancy, and usually calls for a lump sum settlement.
#3 General Damages
One of the more straightforward calculation methods is to convert all of your special damages into general damages that can be brought before the court. These general damages must be specifically defined and tied to your injury. For example, if you have suffered a debilitating injury that prevents you from driving, you can add new transportation costs to the calculation. You can add these general damages on top of more specific costs, such as medical bills, in order to come up with a final calculation.
Learn More About Calculating Personal Injury Damages
You should know that insurance companies will do everything they can to deny you the settlement you deserve, and you must therefore be prepared to fight back with solid legal counsel. Additionally, if you have any questions regarding how age, preexisting medical conditions, and other factors could play a part in your claim, you will need to seek help from a professional and reliable source.
The legal team at the Tatum Law Firm is capable of guiding you through the tricky process that is personal injury law, and if you would like to learn more about how a lawyer could help you, contact one of our representatives and get started right away.