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How to Calculate a Personal Injury Settlement

Calculating a personal injury settlement’s value is important when you need compensation to fund your recovery, but it’s a more complicated procedure than most people think. Our personal injury lawyers can help you not only calculate but substantiate your damages and negotiate a favorable settlement.

In personal injury cases, the focus is receiving the proper compensation for the injuries and losses you’ve suffered. This can go into proving medical expenses, loss of income, pain and suffering, and so on.

If you are looking to claim compensation for a personal injury, you might be wondering what a reasonable value would be. You don’t want to lowball yourself by giving a low figure, or a figure higher than what you can prove.

This article will explain how personal injury settlements are calculated in Alabama, so you can maximize your chances of receiving fair compensation.

Severity of the Injury

The circumstances of a particular personal injury case are crucial in determining the value of a settlement. For example, the settlement value of a car accident that resulted in the loss of life would be much higher than a car accident that resulted in a broken bone.

The severity of your personal injury, the losses suffered, and the hardships endured are the major factors in determining the value of your settlement. An injury resulting in temporary disabilities that eventually heal will have a lower value than injuries that cause permanent disability or dismemberment.

Insurance Policy Limits

Depending on the nature of the personal injury, you may find yourself dealing with the other party’s insurance company instead of the other party directly. This is especially true for car accidents because Alabama law requires all drivers to carry liability insurance.

In such cases, the policy limits of the liable party can affect the direction of your claim. The maximum amount of damages the defendant can recover through an insurer is set by policy limits. When damages exceed policy limits the defendant will be required to pursue the remaining compensation from the liable party directly.

Quantify Your Current and Future Loss

There are many forms of loss to consider in a personal injury settlement. Compensatory damages are split into two categories, economic damages and non-economic damages. These damages compensate victims for their injuries, loss, and hardship. Note that for each value you claim, you will need to back it up with the appropriate evidence. This includes receipts, proof of income, and other necessary documents. These are best substantiated with the help of a personal injury lawyer, who knows that kinds of evidence are needed for each claim. 

Economic Damages

Economic damages are designed to compensate victims for their tangible loss such as medical expenses incurred, future medical expenses, property damage, lost income, lost earning capacity, and more. These losses generally come with a price tag and are a little easier to quantify than their counterpart.

Non-Economic Damages 

Non-Economic damages are compensation for the intangible loss a victim suffers such as physical pain, emotional anguish, disfigurement, loss of consortium, to name a few. These losses and hardships are subjective and thus more difficult to calculate. Your personal injury attorney has the knowledge and tools to help you calculate all forms of loss to ensure you seek an adequate settlement for all you’ve gone through.

Contact a Personal Injury Lawyer Today

As you can see, calculating the value of your personal injury settlement is a complicated affair that goes into the nature of your specific personal injury.

Settlement procedures generally require a lot of negotiation. At the Henry Dailey Law Firm, your Birmingham personal injury lawyer can help you calculate and prove the value of your damages. Rest assured when a professional is managing your case or claim.

Call us now to schedule a free consultation at 205-995-2412 or visit us online so you can talk to an attorney with no pressure and no hidden fees.


About the Author:

Henry C. Dailey Law Firm, P.C.


Henry C. Dailey, our firm’s founder, is a native son of Alabama. He was born, raised, and educated here, giving him an unparalleled commitment to his fellow Alabamians. As his education and career have both been spent in the Yellowhammer State, Henry has an in intimate, in-depth knowledge of how personal injury law and the local court systems work in Alabama.Car AccidentsTruck AccidentsMotorcycle AccidentsPersonal InjuryTruck Wrecks... View full business profile here: Henry C. Dailey Law Firm, P.C.





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