Personal injury law is complicated, and there are lots of variables that contribute to the kind of settlement demand that you can make if you have been injured due to the negligence of someone else. A personal injury lawyer can help you craft the kind of settlement demand that is needed for you to get back on your feet after an accident, but you can also do some research on your own before you head to your consultation with your lawyer of choice.
A personal injury settlement calculator can help you determine how much your injury settlement should be. For many people, the first stage of a personal injury case is making a claim. Often, people will try to avoid the cost of a lawyer and see what kind of settlement they are offered. This is where a calculator can help you the most. You should never agree to a settlement that falls short of what you are entitled to, but you cannot know how much your award should be without this kind of tool.
Why You Should Use a Personal Injury Calculator
There are lots of reasons that you should use a personal injury calculator after your accident. We will discuss the best uses of this tool here and some instances when you might want to use one. There are a few tools that are going to be more helpful than a personal injury calculator after an injury.
This is one of the first places to start collecting data once you have been injured due to someone else’s negligence. Be sure that you also check out reporting time and requirements in your state and that you communicate promptly and transparently with your claims adjuster. If you feel like you are being ignored or if your claims settlement offer is too small, it’s always a good idea to get advice from a legal professional.
1. Get an Understanding of the Correct Settlement Amount
As stated above, you can’t know if you are being offered a reasonable and fair settlement if you have no idea what your settlement should be. Many people only think about covering their medical costs and lost wages related to the accident that they suffered. The reality is that your accident might have caused long-term health issues that you will need to handle for the rest of your life, or it could have led to you needing to find a new kind of profession to work in.
When you don’t know what the right settlement amount should be, you could accept an award that will leave you with costs that you have to pay out of pocket. There are a myriad of considerations that are behind a settlement request, and without a lawyer creating your settlement demand, you could end up with an award that falls significantly short.
2. You Need to Calculate all the Possible Factors
Personal injury cases surround complex situations in most cases. These cases happen because someone was at fault and caused you to be injured. You are entitled to compensation for things like your lost wages, your medical bills, ongoing care that is necessary to heal from your injuries, and even pain and suffering. When you don’t look at all of these variables, you might not realize just how much money you are leaving on the table.
A calculator will ask you relevant information about your case, such as the details of your accident, the cost of your medical bills so far, and your ability to go back to work. This information is collated and parsed by the tool, and a settlement number is produced that you can use as a starting point for your case.
It can be tough to know which factors can be included in your settlement award unless you are a lawyer. However, with this kind of tool in hand, you can find out just how much your award should be at a minimum, even if you haven’t yet secured a lawyer to represent you.
3. Insurance Companies Are Always Trying to Avoid Making Payments
Insurance companies work hard to save money on each claim. This means that their first offer to you after your accident will almost certainly be too low. You need to use a calculator so that you can figure out what the minimum settlement award should be for your case. You can then push back against this settlement offer and cite real data that shows that the award you have been offered is too small.
Be aware that it can be very hard to wrangle with an insurance company without a lawyer. Even if you have used a calculator to come up with a bigger number than the settlement that you were offered, you might not be able to get traction against an insurance company without a lawyer on your side.
Seek a Skilled Legal Counsel
Personal injury cases can be complex. It can be hard to know what steps to take after your accident. One of the first things that you should do is use a personal injury settlement calculator to find out how much your settlement amount should be. If the award that you are offered is too small, it’s time to seek out a skilled and experienced lawyer to help you fight with the insurance company to get the award that you deserve.
It is key to know when to get help. Many people wait too long to reject low-ball settlement offers, or they simply assume that the settlement that they were offered was all that they could ever hope to get for their injuries. In most cases, your original settlement offer will be far too low, and you will need to get the help of a legal professional to assist you as you go after a full and correct settlement offer.
Working with a skilled lawyer matters when it comes to personal injury cases. Don’t settle for a monetary award that will not allow you to get back on your feet again.
