Most drivers understand that when they get into a major car accident and suffer significant bodily or property damage, they should expect to receive compensation or Car Accident Settlements.
Few drivers know that you can get a settlement for even minor injuries resulting from a car crash. These smaller accidents can still result in loss of wages, bills you can’t afford and pose plenty of daily challenges to overcome.
But how much can you actually get and is it worth your time and effort?
Here’s everything you need to know about minor injury car accident settlements:
Table of Contents
Types of Loss That Can be Recovered
Depending on which state you live in, the ability to recover losses is different. However, they all have the same two classifications of losses; economic losses and non-economic losses.
Economic losses include those that would be monetary. For example, if your car was damaged, you lost some of the value of your car. This can only be recovered through a monetary payment.
Economic losses include medical bills, loss of property value, lost wages, cost of vehicle repair or replacement, cost of prescription drugs, loss of the ability to earn as much as you did before the accident.
Non-economic losses are more difficult to prove but affect your life just as much if not more than your economic losses.
These include pain and suffering, loss of a loved one, loss of quality of life, and many more.
Although it would be easy for a judge to recognize your economic losses, you may need to explain more in detail how you’ve suffered the non-economic damages to be eligible for a more comprehensive claim.
For a complete list of potential losses and to understand which you’re entitled to for compensation, you can contact a knowledgeable attorney here.
How Much You Can Expect
Of course, in a minor car accident, you can’t expect the award to be as high as that of a severe car crash, but you shouldn’t settle for any less than you deserve.
How much you can get from your settlement will be different than any other because no two situations are alike.
Your settlement may be as much as a thousands of dollars or as little as a few hundred but an experienced car accident lawyer can tell you more.
In fact, if your case doesn’t look promising, you won’t find a lawyer willing to represent you, since most will only get paid a percentage of your winnings.
A good lawyer will sit down with you, ask the right questions, and come up with a number based on your economic and non-economic losses you expressed.
How Long Does It Take To Get Compensation?
Just like the amount of your settlement is unique to your current situation, the length of time for a settlement to be reached is also unique. Some cases can take less than a month, while others can take years to resolve.
It is important to know that settling too quickly isn’t wise. Not only will you perhaps settle for less than you can get if you hold out a little longer, but even minor injuries can take some time to develop.
That’s not to say that you shouldn’t contact a car accident lawyer right away. The quicker you get in touch with an attorney, the better.
They can help you to take the correct actions to ensure you don’t do anything to put you in a position to lose any possible recompense or miss an opportunity to improve your odds of winning.
How the Settlement Process Works
Your first step in the settlement process is to file a claim with the other party’s insurance company.
Next you should find an attorney to help you in the coming legal proceedings. This lawyer will take the lead and gather any necessary evidence and give you advice on your claim.
They will also be responsible for speaking to the insurance company and providing them with the demand letter. This is the amount of money that you believe you should receive to cover all economic and non-economic losses.
You must wait for the insurance company to look over your evidence and come to a decision. If they decide to negotiate a settlement, your lawyer will help you to come to a fair amount for your losses.
If they deny your claim, you can file an appeal.
Of course, you will want to get all of this done before your statute of limitations runs out. You can see the statute of limitations by state here.
Conclusion
Most people don’t pursue minor injury recompensation, thinking that’s is more headache than its worth, but why pay anything out of pocket when you never should have faced these difficulties, to begin with Car Accident Settlements?
Why sit with aches and pains that you didn’t ask for? You deserve to get something for your loss and a personal injury lawyer can help you get it.
