What settlement guide is usually used for a car accident?
Get Legal Help Today
Compare Quotes From Top Companies and Save
Secured with SHA-256 Encryption
What settlement guide is usually used for a car accident?
I was rear-ended, I had head, neck and back pain. I was trying to find out what settlement option are there; is it
usually double the medical bills?
Asked on January 23, 2019 under Personal Injury, Missouri
Answers:
S.L,. Member, California Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 5 years ago | Contributor
When you complete your medical treatment and are released by the doctor or are declared by the doctor to be permanent and stationary, which means having reached a point in your medical treatment where no further improvement is anticipated, obtain your medical bills, medical reports and documentation of wage loss. Your claim filed with the at-fault party's insurance company should include those items.
Compensation for the medical bills is straight reimbursement. The medical reports document your injury and are used to determine compensation for pain and suffering, which is an amount in addition to the medical bills. Compensation for wage loss is straight reimbursement.
There isn't any settlement guide for determining compensation for pain and suffering because each case is different. It depends on the extent of your injuries, whether or not you have fully recovered or have residual complaints, require future treatment. etc.
If you have fully recovered and don't have residual complaints, I would ask for quadruple the medical bills to compensate for pain and suffering, but NOT expecting to get that. The insurance company will respond with a much lower offer and you can continue negotiations.
IMPORTANT NOTICE: The Answer(s) provided above are for general information only. The attorney providing the answer was not serving as the attorney for the person submitting the question or in any attorney-client relationship with such person. Laws may vary from state to state, and sometimes change. Tiny variations in the facts, or a fact not set forth in a question, often can change a legal outcome or an attorney's conclusion. Although AttorneyPages.com has verified the attorney was admitted to practice law in at least one jurisdiction, he or she may not be authorized to practice law in the jurisdiction referred to in the question, nor is he or she necessarily experienced in the area of the law involved. Unlike the information in the Answer(s) above, upon which you should NOT rely, for personal advice you can rely upon we suggest you retain an attorney to represent you.