How Do I Know How Much Compensation I Need After a Car Accident?

Car accidents aren’t just painful—they’re also expensive. If you were recently injured in a crash, you may be facing everything from costly car repairs and hospital bills to weeks of lost wages and physical rehabilitation.

Because of the financial impact of a crash, getting compensation for your damages is one of your top priorities. But how much compensation is fair? It can be difficult to tell if the insurance company is offering you enough money—or if you’re asking for an amount that will fully cover not just your current financial losses but any future injury-related expenses as well.

Keep reading to learn the factors that go into calculating fair compensation for your car accident and how our lawyers can help you get every penny you deserve.

Calculate Your Economic Damages

Economic damages are expenses that can be tallied up after a crash. They include:

• Medical Expenses: This is the sum of all your costs related to emergency care, hospital stays, surgeries, medications, rehabilitation, and future medical treatments.
• Lost Wages: When calculating this, account for income lost due to time off work during recovery. If your injury is severe or results in long-term disability, you may need to calculate future lost income, including any promotions, raises, and career advancement opportunities your disability is expected to cost you.
• Property Damage: Include repair or replacement costs for your vehicle and any other personal property damaged in the accident.
• Out-of-Pocket Expenses: Consider costs such as transportation to medical appointments, rental car fees, and other accident-related expenditures.

Consider Your Non-Economic Damages

Non-economic damages, also known as pain and suffering damages, are subjective damages that typically don’t have exact monetary values attached to them. However, they’re important to include in your settlement.

When creating a list of your non-economic damages, consider all the ways the accident has affected you, including:

• Pain and Suffering: This includes your physical pain and any mental or emotional suffering you’re experiencing from the accident.
• Emotional Distress: This includes anxiety, depression, or trauma you’ve experienced post-accident.
• Loss of Enjoyment: If you’ve developed an inability to engage in hobbies or activities you once enjoyed after your car accident, you should include this in your pain and suffering calculation.
• Loss of Consortium: Include the impact of the car accident and your injuries on your relationships with your family members and spouse.

Although non-economic damages can’t be tallied as easily as economic damages, a common method for estimating them in Ohio is called the multiplier method. This involves multiplying your total economic damages by a factor (typically between 1.5 and 5) based on the severity of your injuries and their impact on your life. For instance, if your economic damages total $10,000 and a multiplier of 2 is deemed appropriate, your non-economic damages would be $20,000, leading to a total compensation of $30,000.

How Can a Lawyer Help Me Determine How Much Compensation I Need?

During the days, weeks, and months after a serious crash-related injury, your biggest concern is getting better—not tallying up medical bills and lost paychecks. Getting an experienced Ohio car accident lawyer on your side as soon as possible after a crash can give you peace of mind, as you’ll know the work of calculating your damages quickly and accurately is being taken care of for you—and unlike the insurance company, your lawyer will do so with your best interests in mind.

A lawyer can help by:

• Assessing Your Damages: A lawyer will evaluate all the losses you’ve incurred, including medical expenses, lost wages, property damage, and pain and suffering.
• Calculating Your Future Costs: A lawyer can help project future medical expenses and loss of earning capacity, ensuring these are factored into your claim.
• Determining Your Pain and Suffering Damages: Depending on what’s appropriate for your case, your lawyer may use the multiplier method or another approach to calculate how much money you should receive for your pain and suffering.
• Collecting Documentation: Your lawyer will collect all bills and documentation that shows both tangible and intangible damages related to the crash. They will use this documentation when negotiating a strong settlement offer for you.
• Considering Punitive Damages: If the person who caused the crash was extremely reckless behind the wheel, your lawyer may believe you have a strong case for receiving punitive damages, which are only awarded at trial. Although punitive damages are designed to punish at-fault parties, they can add a considerable amount to your compensation total.

Experienced Ohio car accident attorneys know how much car accident cases are worth, and they can give you an accurate estimate of how much money you deserve, whether it’s awarded via a settlement or through a jury verdict if your case goes to trial. With that knowledge, you can either accept the insurance company’s offer or take the at-fault party to court to pursue more money.

Cleveland Auto Accident Attorneys: Free Consultations Available

It’s not uncommon for two different car accident victims to suffer nearly identical injuries under similar circumstances, only for one victim to receive money that covers only a fraction of their expenses. In contrast, the other victim receives enough money to cover all of their current AND future expenses.

The difference between these two scenarios is often knowing how much money you’re owed and having the resources and legal representation to demand it.

At Nurenberg, Paris, Heller & McCarthy, our lawyers never settle for less money than our clients deserve. Because crash victims get only one chance at getting full compensation, we understand the importance of making sure they get every penny they’re owed during the negotiation stage or at trial.

Contact us today for a free consultation and to learn how we can help after your car accident in Ohio.

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