Have you been in a car accident in Atlanta, GA? You can get compensation for your damages, but it isn’t as smooth as it sounds. Various factors determine the average settlement for a car accident, including the expertise of your Atlanta car accident attorney.
Here we will try to determine the cost of your car accident settlement per your case.
Factors affecting average settlement for a car accident
Various factors come into play when calculating an average settlement for a car accident. The most commonly asked question to a car accident attorney in Atlanta is, how much is my case worth? The various factors below will determine the worth of your case:
- Amount of car insurance at-fault driver carries
Not your car insurance, but the coverage provided by the car insurance of the at-fault driver determines the amount of settlement you can expect.
If the at-fault driver has minimum liability insurance in Georgia, your settlement will be limited to the same, i.e., $25000. This would be sufficient to recover your damages if you have sustained minor injuries.
If the injuries are serious, you can get them recovered under your car insurance through an underinsured or uninsured motorist coverage policy.
If neither of these can recover the mammoth damage the car accident resulted in, you can always take the help of a car accident attorney in Atlanta. They will suggest the best possible strategy and steps to filing a lawsuit to recover the expenses.
- The severity of the accident
The more severe the car accident, the more the expected settlement you can receive. This is to say, if a car accident is severe, the injuries tend to be serious too. It should be noted that the reverse is also true. Even if the car accident seemed minor with minimal to no damage to the car, the impact could have caused injuries to the passengers/driver (visible or invisible).
You can cover the car damages through your insurance company if the vehicle is insured. You can recover the cost of your injuries from the at-fault party’s insurance company. These insurance companies will go to all lengths to fight against the compensation. Having an attorney by your side can be helpful.
- Treating car accident injuries
Treat your car injuries or medical attention immediately after the accident.
This will make your case stronger before the insurance adjusters. It does not take long for insurance adjusters to prove that the injuries are not related to the car accident if there was any delay in getting treatment.
- The severity of the injuries
This is an important factor in calculating the average settlement. The more severe the injuries, the more will be the medical expenses. This means you will be entitled to more compensation.
Minor injuries like whiplash, bumps, and bruises will call for less compensation than catastrophic injuries like fractures and permanent injuries.
However, the more severe the injuries, the more time is spent proving their existence. This would involve showing the doctor’s report and testimony that the injuries are permanent and would lead to loss of income.
- Type of treatment the injuries demanded
This is closely related to the above factor. Small and minor injuries like soft tissue injuries require less extensive care and gather less settlement amount.
Serious injuries like multiple fractures and injuries related to surgeries require more treatment, long-duration hospitalizations, physical therapy, and much more, thus gathering more settlement.
- The length of medical treatment needed
Similarly, the more the days turn into weeks and months, the greater amount of settlement you can expect. However, extending the duration of your medical treatment would be unethical to hype up your settlement amount.
The victim should always listen to his doctor and do what he says regarding recovery. Also, the victim should not stop medical care before they get compensation. This would make it difficult to get a claim thereafter
- Presence/absence of prior injury claims
If the injuries in a car accident have been sustained in the past, it can negatively impact your settlement.
This is because the insurance adjusters will link the severity of the current injuries to your past injuries and try to diminish the settlement amount. For instance, if you had any degenerative disk problem before your car accident and the car accident was minor, it will become difficult to demand a large settlement.
- How clear is the proof of the injuries?
Proving the credibility of the injuries can also affect the settlement amount. Some injuries are invisible, like a broken bone, herniated disk, and muscle tears. They require X-rays, CT scans, and others to prove their existence.
However, you should not give up on seeking a large settlement in such an instance. You can contact a car accident attorney in Atlanta to seek rightful compensation.
The average settlement amount depending on the injuries
So, the injuries can determine the average settlement amount more closely. To provide an estimate:
- Whiplash injuries with a $3000 medical bill can be able to collect $5000 to $6000 as settlement amount in Atlanta
- Back and neck surgery cases with a $100,000 medical bill will be able to collect nearly the same amount depending on the expertise of an attorney
- Knee and shoulder injury claims with a $15000 medical bill will be able to gather up to $30,000 in claims if the injury is temporary. If it’s permanent, it can settle for $100,000 or more.
You can also expect the other victims in the car accident to influence your settlement amount. In case of multiple car crashes where the victims are more than one, the case would take an unexpected turn. In such a case, the defendant party could also be more than one, affecting the average settlement amount entirely.
Your average settlement amount for a car accident partly depends on the attorney’s experience dealing with your case. An experienced personal injury attorney in Atlanta, GA, who knows the ins and outs of the laws, will be able to recover not only the medical bills but also other monetary benefits like lost wages, car damages, and other non-monetary benefits.
