Maybe you were in an accident and got injured, lost your hob while the hospital bills are mounting. Filing a claim for compensation might seem the easiest way out. However, it is not that easy that you file and the insurance company approves a fait settlement.
You may not know it, but there are many factors involved in putting a dollar value on your personal injury claim or case. While no case is the same, there are a few common variables that will increase or decrease your final settlement amount, as per personal injury lawyer in London.
Factors that Affect Your Multiplier
A multiplier is one of the most common formulas used to determine a dollar value for a personal injury claim or case. This number will put a dollar amount on the nature and extent of the property damage and injuries that you suffered from your accident. The insurance adjuster considers the following variables when calculating the appropriate multiplier to use for your case:
• Hard injuries – include broken bones, head injuries, joint injuries, vertebrae injuries, and nerve damage, among other things.
• Medical expenses needed to treat your injuries
• Medical treatment by a medical doctor or in a clinic or hospital
• Medicines prescribed to treat the injuries
• Injuries that are treated for a long period of time
• Long recover period
• A permanent injury or disability
• Pain and suffering
• Daily life disruptions
The following variables may actually lower your final settlement:
• Soft tissue injuries
• If the majority of your expenses were for diagnoses and not treatment
• You weren’t treated by medical doctors
• You weren’t prescribed medicines for your injuries
• Your treatments only needed a few doctor’s visits
• You recovered from your injuries fairly quickly
• You didn’t sustain residual or permanent injuries
• You suffered no permanent physical injuries or pain and suffering from your accident.
Other factors that affect your settlement
The defense will look at other factors that will make your final settlement higher or lower after the multiplier is applied. This will include the factors that will probably get you a higher settlement:
• You didn’t share any of the fault
• You were organized and professional throughout the entire claims process
• The insured is neither credible nor sympathetic
• You have witnesses who will corroborate your side of the story
While there are other factors that will probably lower your settlement, so you need to be aware of it. These are:
• You were partially at fault
• You were disorganized or incompetent/unprofessional throughout the claims process
• The insured was sympathetic towards you
• You didn’t have any witnesses, or the insured had witnesses to strengthen his or her side of the story