Being in a truck accident can be a very harrowing ordeal. However, besides being a dangerous experience, it can also greatly impact your financial situation because of the costs that come with dealing with the injuries and harm sustained in the accident.

Get legal assistance from trusted firms, like truck accident attorneys at Edward Bernstein and Associates, who know how to ensure you get justice by making sure at-fault parties are compelled to offer financial reparation.

One of the key things that most plaintiffs or claimants want to know is what their claim is worth and whether they can get a favorable settlement or ruling. Some of the most common questions include: What’s the average accident settlement? How does one calculate the amount?

In this article, you’re going to see how insurance corporations and legal courts calculate settlement amounts for motor vehicle accident claims and how experienced car accident attorneys can help argue for maximum monetary compensation.

Medical Bills

In a lot of truck accident claims, the most common damage highlighted in the cases is the medical expenses of the victim. Truck collisions can result in severe injuries that may require the people involved in them to seek medical attention. In some scenarios, a person might need to be admitted to a hospital and receive various medications and treatments to help heal the injuries.

All these healthcare services typically cost a significant amount, especially if you need surgeries or to stay in the hospital for an extended period of time. Fortunately, it isn’t that hard to calculate compensation linked to medical expenses. All an insurance adjuster or company needs to do is total the healthcare-related costs, including medication, medical devices used, and ambulance rides.

Pain and Suffering

One of the most commonly recognized non-economic damages in motor vehicle accidents is pain and suffering. Pain and suffering include the emotional pain and mental anguish that you may have suffered due to a truck accident. This particular damage is often a little harder to calculate compared to the others on this list because insurance firms and adjusters do not usually have that hard data like they would with something like medical expenses that they can use.

In such cases, they would have to use:

The Multiplier Method

Where the attorney and insurance firm assess all the intangible damages linked to the truck accident and rate each one with a value figure between 1.5 and 5. It’s one of the best ways to calculate pain and suffering. For instance, if the truck accident’s total economic damage is $30,000 and you’ve got 3 as your multiplier, then the total remuneration you should expect is $30,000 + ($30,000 x 3).

Per Diem Method

In the per diem technique, a daily value is assigned rather than the multiplier. The value’s baseline is normally the wages you get daily, multiplied by how many days of work you lost due to the injuries you sustained. For instance, if you have a $250 daily wage and claim 100 total days of suffering, then the pain and suffering you’ll be entitled to will amount to about $25,000.

Lost Wages

While recovering or at the hospital, you may not be able to go to work, which, in turn, may result in you losing income. The same thing applies to those who suffered temporary disabilities because of the accident. When calculating what you’re entitled to because of lost wages, you’ll need to simply multiply the total days you couldn’t go to work by how much that cost you.

However, things can get a little more complicated if the victim has a mixed income or works variable shift hours. In such scenarios, the court might decide to make an average number the blanket multiplier.