How Much Should I Ask for a Personal Injury Settlement?

If you’re filing a personal injury claim, you may need to write a demand letter. In that letter, you will ask for a certain amount of money. The amount that you receive could either help or hurt your future. For that reason, you should choose carefully. Here are a few things you should know about compensation in a personal injury claim.

Dollars and Sense

After a personal injury, you probably have some costly bills to pay. For instance, car accident victims have many expenses. These days, the age of vehicles on the road makes them more likely to be totaled. Other expenses, such as medical bills and missed days of work, also cause financial issues.

That’s why the amount of compensation you request is so important. If you don’t ask for enough, you won’t cover your expenses or give yourself a chance at a full recovery. On the other hand, asking for too much increases your chances of going to court for a resolution. In most cases, a fair settlement is your best option.

The Damages Formula

There is a formula that can help you determine the right value for damages. Here are some of the information you need to input in the damages formula:

1. Medical care
2. Other medical expenses
3. Lost income or missed work time
4. Pain and suffering
5. Permanent disfigurement or disability
6. Loss of experiences or family

The formula accounts for special damages, which have multipliers. If you have a particularly painful injury, your compensation increases. The same is true of the length and invasiveness of your medical treatment. Those with serious and permanent injuries often receive more money.

There are some other details, such as the obviousness of fault, that also contribute. If you have strong evidence that the other party was at fault, then you could ask for more money. However, cases that are less obvious may involve lower payouts.

How Much Should You Ask For?

The damages formula is not set in stone. If you are starting off negotiations, you have the flexibility of choosing the value. You might want to start with a higher value; the process involves negotiating and the value is likely to decrease.

When you buy a new car, you can usually negotiate with the salesman to get a better price. For that reason, dealerships mark up the starting prices of their vehicles. Negotiating a personal injury settlement works in a similar way. You could ask for more up front, knowing that value will be slightly less.

That said, you don’t want to start off negotiations with an extremely unreasonable number. The opposing party will realize that it’s asking for too much. Then, they will probably counter with a very low number.

Typically, you should ask for a number that is between 75% to 100% higher than the value you want. But you should speak with a Los Angeles personal injury attorney before making any demands.

Getting What You Want

The majority of personal injury claims end with settlements. However, the value of those settlements varies greatly. There are many factors that determine the amount you should receive, and choosing a fair settlement amount can be difficult.

By speaking with an attorney at Bauman Law APLC, you can learn more about the value of your claim. You can find out how much it might be worth, and learn what you should ask for in your demand letter. After that, your attorney can guide you through the process.

This article does not necessarily reflect the opinions of the editors or management of EconoTimes.