Pros And Cons Of Filing A Lawsuit

If youve been disfigured or disabled by a personal injury caused by someone else, it might be worth it to file a personal injury lawsuit if the adjuster is unwilling to pay a fair amount of compensation for your emotional distress. Permanent injuries usually merit much higher amounts for pain and suffering.

Its amazing how fast an adjuster can get authority for a higher settlement amount once a lawsuit is filed.

On the downside, you might not get much more for pain and suffering than was already offered. Unless you are seriously injured, you arent likely to end up with more in your pocket by the time you pay attorney fees and costs.

If your injury case makes it to trial, you risk losing. You never know what a jury will do, and you could end up with nothing. Sometimes taking a lower settlement is the safest choice.

An Example Pain And Suffering Calculation With The Multiplier Method

Consider the following example. A motorist is injured in a collision with a negligent driver on Lake Shore Drive. At trial, a jury must first determine the amount of medical bills the injured person is facing. Next, the jury must determine the appropriate multiplier.

If the jury determines that the injured motorist suffered $10,000 in medical expenses and applies a multiplier of two, they will assess $20,000 in pain and suffering damages as well.

Is There A Cap On Pain And Suffering In West Virginia

Unlike many other states, West Virginia has not enacted a statutory cap on noneconomic damages for most personal injury claims. Generally, there is no limit or maximum dollar amount that you can recover for pain and suffering damages. As such, the total damages in some cases can be substantial.

Claims involving medical malpractice are the only type of litigation subject to a noneconomic damages cap in West Virginia. West Virginia Code § 55-7B-8 caps noneconomic damages for injuries suffered as a result of medical malpractice at $250,000.

There are several scenarios under this law where plaintiffs can recover up to $500,000 for pain and suffering and other noneconomic losses, including:

• and substantial physical deformity, loss of use of a limb or loss of a bodily organ system
• physical or mental functional injury that permanently prevents the injured person from being able to independently care for himself or herself and perform life-sustaining activities

It is important to note that the pain and suffering damages you seek must be reasonable. Insurance companies will not pay wild, excessive, or unreasonable compensation for pain and suffering. Such awards will typically be struck down by a court as well.

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My Role Is To Make Your Case For Full Damages For Pain And Suffering

I will want to introduce evidence to make your case for the full value for the pain and suffering that you received, both in settlement efforts and, if necessary, at trial. This evidence could be your testimony in court , medical experts or others who are familiar with your case, and even notes that you may take after your injury. If the defendants are not willing to pay you fair compensation for your suffering, then I will make your case to a jury and let them determine liability and fair compensation for pain and suffering.

Trials And Settlements In An Emotional Distress Case

On a date set by the court, the trial will occur. Your attorney will present evidence supporting your claim and attempt to undermine any defenses offered by the other side.

A trial ends after both sides have rested and a verdict is reached, either by the jury or the judge.

At any time, however, there may be a settlement offer. You and your attorney may even approach the defendant about a settlement before filing the lawsuit. Likewise, the defendant may try to negotiate a settlement during the pretrial preparations, after the trial has begun, or even while the jury is deliberating.

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Example Of How To Calculate Pain And Suffering In Montana

Imagine this scenario:

You were in a car crash and the other driver was 100% at fault. Your injuries left you permanently disabled, requiring the use of a wheelchair, and unable to return to your job as a construction worker because youre no longer physically capable of that kind of work.

Your total cost of damages might break down as follows:

Again, this is a hypothetical situation and not necessarily how a real-life case would play out. But it gives you an idea of how a lawyer would begin to determine what the total cost of damages might be.

How Split Limits Work

Bodily injury coverage most commonly has two policy limits, or split limits. One number represents the most the insurer will pay for one claimant, and the other represents the maximum the insurer will pay in total, regardless of the number of claimants involved. This second number would come into play if there were injured passengers involved.

You probably have seen split limits before they most often look like 50/100 or $50,000/$100,000. There are exceptions to this rule, however. For example, there may be other insurance policies involved if the injury was caused by a major corporation or some other large entity besides a private citizen.

This typically means that a person cannot sue an insurance company for a million dollars if the insurance coverage the defendant held only had a limit of $50,000. However, if there are multiple liable parties or if the defendant is a corporation, then you may be able to collect significantly more compensation for your pain and suffering. If the case were to proceed to trial, it depends on the state whether or not there is a limit.

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Personal Injury Claims Calculator

After an accident with injuries that wasnt your fault, you will have many questions. These questions may include:

• How much should I ask for in a personal injury settlement?
• Is there an auto accident settlement formula?
• What is a personal injury claims calculator?

As a victim of someone elses negligence, you will obviously want to try and figure out your potential compensation. You might have a temptation to make use of a free personal injury settlement calculator. However, the best thing to do is find a personal injury lawyer who is experienced and has good reviews from satisfied clients of past personal injury cases, like Lakota R. Denton.

Contact A Morgantown Personal Injury Lawyer Today

Calculating pain and suffering damages is one of the most important roles an attorney can play in your personal injury case. It is important to look beyond your immediate losses to determine what constitutes full compensation.

The attorneys at Colombo Law bring years of experience to the table. We have a tireless passion for justice, as well as an extensive history of settlements and verdicts in a wide range of personal injury claims. While we cannot guarantee specific results in advance, we can help you understand how the law might apply to your claim and how much money accident victims in similar situations have recovered in West Virginia in the past.

In the majority of our cases, we have been able to negotiate favorable settlements without going to trial. We are often able to get our clients more money than the insurer was willing to offer before we got involved.

Should your case proceed to trial, we will fight to maximize compensation on your behalf. Our experience in the courtroom frequently enables us to achieve much higher awards than other personal injury law firms in the area.

Heres our promise to you:

• A free case evaluation with absolutely no obligation to hire us
• Honest guidance and advice

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Causes Of Emotional Distress

Any traumatic event has the potential to inflict psychological damage both to those who lived through the event as well as anyone who witnessed it or is related to the events victims or survivors. For instance, the Mayo Clinic lists traumatic or stressful events as one of many potential risk factors for depression.

As such, it is possible for accident victims to recover damages for emotional and physical pain after almost any type of accident. For example, you could be entitled to such damages if you:

• Were hit by a car, truck, or another vehicle
• Were attacked by a vicious dog
• Experienced an adverse medical event, such as complications during childbirth
• Had a bad fall on someone elses property
• Have a loved one who experienced nursing home abuse
• Lost a loved one in any type of preventable accident

All of these situations involve suffering harm at the hands of someone you should have been able to trust: a car driver who should have followed the rules of the road, for instance, or a medical professional who you relied on to take care of you or your loved ones.

Preparing For A Deposition

If your case is in litigation you will most likely sit for a deposition. At a deposition, your testimony is given under oath before a court reporter who is taking down questions directed to you by the defense attorney, along with your responses.

During a deposition, the defense attorney will ask questions regarding your pain and suffering. The answers can be used in the trial to determine whether you deserve compensation for the pain and suffering damages you seek.

In preparing for your deposition, your attorney may ask you to explain how this accident has affected your life. Be ready to give real-life examples so that your attorney can best advocate on your behalf.

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Calculating Pain And Suffering Is Not An Exact Science

In personal injury lawsuits, damages are awarded to compensate injured parties for their medical bills, lost wages, property damage, and something called pain and suffering. But theres a lot to consider when it comes to how to calculate pain and suffering.

There are no hard-and-fast rules. This article will explain how insurance companies usually calculate pain and suffering, as well as how personal injury lawyers calculate pain and suffering.

If youre suing after a car accident and trying to determine the value of your claim, the best thing to do is to contact a lawyer. Use the tool below to reach out for a free consultation. In some injury cases, you may not need a lawyer, but if you decide to take your claim to court, a specialist may be able to help you get the money you deserve.

In this article:

Symptoms Of Emotional Pain And Psychiatric Injuries

Psychiatric and emotional injuries can have a wide range of different symptoms. Just like there are no all-encompassing physical injury symptoms, the symptoms for emotional injuries will vary depending on the emotional injury sustained.

PTSD is an example of a mental injury that you could sustain after a traumatic accident. The symptoms you could experience include:

• Re-experiencing the trauma in the form of flashbacks and nightmares.
• Distressing and repetitive images and sensations.
• Potential emotional numbing due to the pain caused by thinking about the event.
• Hyperarousal is an intense form of anxiety that can lead to irritability, angry outbursts and difficulty sleeping.

If you experience PTSD, this could lead to other mental health conditions like depression and anxiety. In some cases, you might have problems with work and relationships or become dependant on drugs or alcohol to cope with how you are feeling.

There are a wide range of mental injuries that you could sustain after an accident caused by someone elses negligence. If youd like free legal advice to see if you can claim, you can call us using the phone number at the top of this page.

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Which Method Will Be Used In My Situation

As insurance companies are not obligated to use the methods discussed above for determining pain and suffering damages, you can never be 100 percent sure which way they will use in your case.

They can also use in-house computer programs to determine your claim amount.

Insurance companies only consider injuries treated by medical specialists and doctors to be severe than the injuries treated by a chiropractor. Besides this, they sometimes even do their reasoning or rely on past numbers to determine the amount for your pain and suffering case.

For example, if they previously paid $10,000 for pain and suffering for spinal damage, they would pay either the same or lower amount to you for the same injury. Sometimes this can be unfair, but that is where your attorney will come into action, negotiating aggressively for fair compensation.

With an experienced personal injury attorney in Florida for legal representation, you can focus on your recovery. At the same time, they handle all aspects of your case to get you full and fair compensation. This is where we come into the picture.

As mentioned earlier, it is easy for jurors to determine the compensation amount for economic/special damage because the numbers are precise. They have evidence to rely on, such as medical bills and documented loss of income. However, placing a monetary value on pain and suffering is a challenge because it is subjective and abstract.

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To determine non-economic damages like pain and suffering, the attorney multiplies the amount of economic damages by a multiplier.. The multiplier is usually a number between 1.5 and 5, but may go higher depending on the severity of the injuries. Heres an example of the multiplier method in a car accident case.

In the worst-case scenarios, pain from crash injuries is permanent. Examples of physical symptoms that may qualify for a caraccident settlement for painand suffering include: Headaches. Bone fractures. Nerve damage. Soft-tissue damage. Back and neck pain. Vertigo and tinnitus. Internal organ damage..

Mar 22, 2022 · One way to calculatepainand suffering damages is to multiply your economic losses by a number between one and fivewith the average claim using a multiplier of three. Thus, if you have $20,000 in economic losses and multiply that number by three, then your painand suffering damage claim would be $60,000. In some instances, a multiplier of ….

Car Accident Injury Calculator – If you are looking for experienced attorneys then our service can give you the help you need. car accident cost calculator, car accident injury compensation amounts, car accident pain and suffering calculator, accident payout calculator, car accident compensation calculator, estimate car damage calculator, car.

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What Counts As Emotional Distress

Emotional distress, legally speaking, is mental anguish or emotional pain and suffering that usually must be accompanied by some physical manifestation. Because lawmakers want to avoid lawsuits over mere hurt feelings, most emotional distress claims must be accompanied by sleeplessness, anxiety, higher blood pressure or some other physical sign of the emotional pain experienced.

How Pain And Suffering Is Calculated By Insurance Companies

Insurance companies have a pain and suffering calculator that uses either of 2 formulae. It will be up to your South Carolina personal injury attorney to compel the insurance company to pay the full compensation. The 2 methods are:

• Multiplier. A method in which total financial losses are added up and multiplied by a number between 1.5 and 5.

• Per Diem. A method in which a dollar amount is awarded for each day of pain and suffering the injured person experiences.

Many people falsely believe they wont be able to recover compensation for pain and suffering without going to trial, but this is often not the case. The truth is that most personal injury cases, including ones that involve pain and suffering compensation, are settled out of court through negotiations between an attorney and the insurance company.

By using the 2 established methods mentioned above, an experienced personal injury attorney will likely be able to negotiate a fair settlement without the hassle of going to court.

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What Are Pain And Suffering And Emotional Distress In A Settlement

The two most common noneconomic damage awards in a personal injury lawsuit are pain and suffering, and emotional distress. While these damages do not inflict measurable financial losses on the plaintiff, they are very real for the victim. As the survivor of a personal injury accident in California, you or your loved ones may have suffered great emotional and/or physical anguish that deserves compensation.

The civil courts will allow you or your lawyer to request a specific amount you believe reasonably matches the pain and suffering or emotional distress you and your family members suffered. This amount can vary significantly depending on the facts of the case. A jury will ultimately decide whether to grant or deny this type of financial award. It is possible to receive an award for economic damages without economic damages in a civil lawsuit, and vice versa.

How Are Pain And Suffering Defined

Generally, the individual responsible for your injury is responsible for paying both your economic and non-economic damages. Pain and suffering damages are non-economic, meaning they have a subjective calculation. They are not tied to specific monetary values or losses.

Pain and suffering damages encompass an accident victims emotional and physical suffering. It is a measure of the trauma, anguish, and other pain that a victim suffers from an accident.

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Negligent Vs Intentional Infliction Of Emotional Distress

According to the Legal Information Institute , emotional distress can also factor in the cause behind its infliction, as in, whether another party negligently or intentionally inflicted emotional distress on you.

Intentional infliction of emotional distress may occur if another party makes efforts to cause you mental harm, such as through threats, verbal abuse, taunting, or other malicious actions. Negligent infliction of emotional distress , however, occurs unintentionally. It may be more of an effect of psychological trauma or fear of harmful events repeating again.

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