Immediately following an auto accident, most of your focus will be on getting medical attention, but you will inevitably start feeling the pressure of piling medical bills and an inability to earn a living if the injuries result in days off work and lost income.
Once your life is no longer at risk, it is a good idea to start thinking about hiring a lawyer. Considering your financial situation after an accident, the thought of getting a lawyer can be understandably scary.
However, unlike other lawyers, personal injury lawyers typically only charge a contingency fee on your payout, meaning they can only get their cut if your case is won.
What a Lawyer Brings
Having a lawyer commands respect from the opposing side. There is a high chance the other side will have a lawyer, and they will most likely try to take advantage of you by coming to the table with a poor deal. Once you get a lawyer involved, they will be more cautious about how they approach the negotiation table.
The legal process can be stressful; the last thing you want after an accident is additional stress. By having a lawyer work on your case, you can focus on the things that matter to you – such as physical recovery and your mental well-being – while they do the heavy lifting for you. Lawyers are human and understand what you are going through, so they do their best to lighten the legal load.
Your claim could be worth much, but what you do from the immediate aftermath of the accident to filling a claim can enormously affect its value. Unfortunately, many victims do not realize they are hurting their case through their actions until it is too late. “Involving a lawyer as soon as possible is the best way to ensure you do not make mistakes that could compromise your case,” says attorney Russell Berkowitz.
Case Valuation
The value of a claim is based on economic and non-economic damages. If you do not understand what goes into damage valuation, which is most likely the case, you could get less than what you deserve. The two types of damages are valued differently.
Economic damages are easy to calculate because they are the sum of all monetary losses linked with the accident, such as hospital bills, cost of medication, lost wages, property damage etc.
For non-economic damages, you must apply some formulas since the damages are not quantifiable in monetary terms. There are two options for calculating non-economic damages; the per diem or multiplier. The per diem option involves assigning a certain dollar figure for every day of suffering. On average, this figure will be around $250 a day, so if the claimant has 200 days of pain and suffering, they will recover $50,000 in non-economic damages.
The multiplier is the most applied option in personal injury claims. It involves multiplying economic damages by a pre-agreed number known as a multiplier. In most cases, 1.5 is used as a multiplier, but it can go lower or as high as 6, depending on the circumstances.
Final Words
Having a lawyer in your case makes a huge difference. According to statistics, claimants that involve a lawyer are four times more likely to recover fair compensation than claimants that don’t, the lawyers’ cut considered.
Media Information:
Berkowitz Hanna
Stamford, Connecticut
(203) 324-7909
https://berkowitzlawfirm.com/
