Sustaining injuries in a car accident is both- physically suffering as well as emotionally distressing. In most accidents, one or more parties are generally at fault. And likewise, the party that has minimal or no-fault can recover damages and expenses from the at-fault parties.
As a rule of thumb, you can rightfully claim all of your economic damages. It includes the repair or replacement cost of your car, medical expenses, and therapy costs. On top of it, you can also claim non-economic expenses, such as pain and suffering.
But, of course, you know all this. You’re here to know how much you should expect to recover in a car accident settlement. Keep reading, and we’ll help you understand the underlying factors for car accident settlement costs.
Economic Damages
As already mentioned economic damages are mostly covered end to end. However, what exactly these economic damages include can be misleading. To mention clearly, these damages are the ones that can easily be tagged. For example, the cost of repairing your car, the bills from doctor visits and medicines, damage to any other personal property, and so on.
Non-Economic Damages
While recovering economic damages is easy, there could be other damages that cannot be easily priced. The civil court system defines that damages as non-economic damages. You can also click here to read more about these non-economic damages. Usually, this includes pain and suffering, and emotional death caused due to any injury, disability, wrongful death, or all.
Payout Limits
It is noteworthy that there are generally no limits to settlement or payouts in a car accident case. Most of the states follow a no-fault doctrine to settle car accident claims. However, in some states, and under some conditions, there may be payout limits in action. Mostly, payout limits are capped on non-economic damages. You can consult with your attorney to access your state jurisdiction to confirm the same.
State Jurisdiction
Since we are discussing state jurisdiction, it is also noteworthy that the state you file your claim in will largely determine the settlement value. As already mentioned, most states follow a no-fault doctrine to settle car accident claims, while some follow a fault doctrine. On top of this negligence is also determined differently in different states. This also makes up for another reason to consult with a car accident lawyer. They’ll be better able to help you with your case and receive a better settlement.
Final Verdict
Depending upon where you file your car accident claim, against whom you file, and how is the fault determined, your settlement may vary. More so, what you include in your claim would also determine your final settlement payout.
It is also noteworthy that the insurance company releasing your claim would not pay out more than the policy value. So, you must also keep a check on the liability value before filing for a personal injury claim.
On this note, we believe you are now equipped with all the necessary information to estimate your settlement value in a car accident case.
