You step out to run a few routine errands and your life changes forever. This is sometimes the case with car accidents: the effects like physical, financial, and psychic can last for years. The trauma of collisions is aggravated by the shocking suddenness of their occurrence and the grinding length of the aftermath. The misery is made all the worse when the crash is the fault of another. Granted, putting a dollar figure on the suffering is difficult, if not impossible. However, repairs, replacements and treatments do cost money. Sometimes, a fair determination of that cost must be brought to the bar of justice. Otherwise, it is reached through settlement.
Just the Facts
The actual facts or occurrences leading up to the accident in question are critical in discovering who was at fault. Accident reports, surveillance footage, eyewitness testimony and photographic evidence greatly aid an accuser’s case. If witnesses are scarce and recollections faulty, reliable facts are difficult to come by for plaintiffs. This is where settlement is preferable since neither side can make an ironclad case. Yet insurance companies are apt to seek settlement when the evidence is clear that their clients are responsible for the collision. Needless to say, the relative strength of the case will influence one side or the other to resolve the matter out of court.
Assessing Harm and Injury
The documentation and extent of injuries is crucial in negotiating a car crash settlement. The physical harm suffered from an accident can be minor; can be painful; can be debilitating; or can be fatal. Meanwhile, the financial costs of healing and recovery add up. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) studied one year in which there were nearly four-million serious accident-related injuries. The agency tallied $242-billion in associated expenses. Without a doubt, the toll of a car crash is often heavy and severe.
Medical costs can far outstrip another driver’s liability insurance. Furthermore, physical and occupational therapy; orthotics and other devices; as well as long-term pain medications may require ongoing financial disbursements for an indefinite period. Lost or shrunken income are also considerations. An injured party may require a personal care assistant, perhaps in perpetuity. Sometimes, the emotional trauma warrants psychological counseling as well. Each of these items comes with a price tag. If the guilt of the other driver is fairly well demonstrated, the value of the aforementioned treatments and therapies, where applicable, is worth contending for.
There are sources that can assist disputing parties on the optimal dollar amounts attached to various medical procedures. Relative value scales are adopted by physicians for billing purposes, but can likewise serve as useful benchmarks for coming to reasonable conclusions about medical costs. Simply stated, these scales help to account for metaphorically parts, labor and insurance. While insurance companies may differ on the values of services and materials, such standardized scales can serve as practical guidelines against which to measure opposing negotiating terms. Third-party standards like this provide reasonable perspective.
