FAQs on Car Accident Settlements

There are a number of questions that arise with regards to car accidents and car accident settlements in personal injury claims. This article will discuss two questions that arise with regards to car accident settlements and the associated injuries.

1.Do car accident settlements consider lost income if my injury affects my job? The short answer to this question is yes. A plaintiff is entitled to demand that the at fault driver pay for all of his or her economic losses that can be attributed to the car accident. Therefore, if you are unable to work because of injuries or medical treatment resulting from the accident, or if you have missed work or missed out on some kind of income as a result of the accident and your injuries, you are entitled to receive lost income as a part of any car accidents claim you receive. It must be noted that lost income damages will be added into any settlement along with other economic damages such as past and future medical treatment and damage to your vehicle. However, as with any other component of damages in a car accident case it is necessary that you provide sufficient documentation proving your lost income. Where an individual has a full-time job working for someone else providing documentation of proof of lost income is easy to do. As this requires that the employee get records from his or her employer showing their regular pay rate and the number of days and hours the employee missed because of the injuries or because of having to attend medical appointments. It must be noted that even if you were able to use vacation, sick days or other accrued paid time off in order to cover your absences you are still entitled to get a reimbursement for the time lost as lost income. 

If you are self-employed or work only sporadically it would be more of a challenge to prove your lost income. However, you can gather any documentation that shows missed appointments, agreed upon contracts or work orders, a drop in invoices or payments coming in or anything else that shows work opportunities that you missed out on. In addition. you can gather annual tax reports that show your income over recent years and use those reports to come up with a rough monthly income.

2.Is there a minimum settlement for pain and suffering caused by a car accident? There is no minimum amount that a plaintiff can expect to receive for pain and suffering damages in a car accident settlement. It must be noted that the amount for pain and suffering will depend on a number of factors that are unique to each and every case. In addition, it must be noted that there is no accurate formula to calculate pain and suffering. However, there are a few common approaches that can be used. One such method is the multiplier system that uses total medical bills, lost income and other quantifiable losses and multiplies that figure by another more arbitrary number between 1.5 and 4.

For legal advice consult personal injury attorney in Ventura.