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What the Insurance Company is Required to Compensate

 In assessing what your claim should be worth, AUTO ACCIDENT LAYWYER NORTH HOLLYWOOD first looks at the types of damages you may be claiming.

If a driver is liable for an accident his/her insurance company is liable for claims payable to the person who makes a successful personal injury claim. AUTO ACCIDENT LAYWYER NORTH HOLLYWOOD will inform clients that the damages claimed by an injured person may include any or all of the following:

• medical care, rehab expenses required as a direct result of the accident
• income lost because of the accident, andtime spent undergoing treatment and/or rehab for injuries
• permanent physical disability or disfigurement as a direct result of the accident
• loss of family, social, and educational life, including school or training, vacation or recreation, or othersocial, family, or educational event missed as a direct  result of the accident and ensuing care and treatment
• Emotional damages: stress, embarrassment, depression, or family relationships strain including: the inability to care for children, post-traumatic stress as a result of the accident, disruption of sexual relations…
• Damage to property.

 How Insurance Companies Calculate Damages

The Insurance Company will add up the money spent on medical costs and money lost as a result of missed work. Putting a value on pain and suffering or on missed family, social, and educational experiences, lost opportunities and emotional damages is much more difficult.

In an effort to simplify the process and treat all cases fairly the insurance company uses a damages formula.

An insurance adjuster calculates the medical expenses related to the injury. The adjuster uses this amount to figure out what to pay the injured person for pain, suffering, and other intangible losses.

If the injuries are minor, the adjuster multiplies the amount of medical damages by 1.5 or 2.

If the injuries are serious, painful and/or long-lasting, the adjuster takes medical damages and multiples that amount by a figure greater than 2 and up 5.

In very serious injury cases and/or cases of permanent disability and/or disfigurement, the multiplier could be as high as 10

The adjuster then adds income lost as a direct result of the injuries.

These three figures: medical expenses, pain and suffering, and loss of income as a result of the accident constitute the claim calculation the insurance company is offering to pay.

For more information on personal injury claims resulting from car accidents contact: AUTO ACCIDENT LAYWYER NORTH HOLLYWOOD