Calculating Virginia Car Accident Claim Damages

When a person is injured in a vehicle accident that was caused by another party or parties, Virginia law states that they are entitled to file a claim for relief of the financial damages the injuries have caused. In the majority of cases, this car accident claim is filed against the insurance company that issued the automobile insurance policy of the person who caused the crash.

The law states there are certain types of damages that a victim can pursue in their personal injury claim. These include economic (or monetary) losses and noneconomic (nonmonetary) losses. Any loss the victim has sustained as a result of the accident can be included in their accident claim. In most injury cases, the economic damages that a victim is compensated for are for any and all medical expenses incurred for treatment of the injuries, as well as any loss of income they had because they were unable to work while recovering from their injury.

Pain and Suffering

A common non-economic loss that an injury victim can pursue compensation for is the pain and suffering they endured because of the injury. Pain and suffering is a catchall phrase for all of the emotional, physical, and psychological pain the injured victim has suffered because of the accident.

Unlike medical expenses and loss of income, there is no actual dollar amount that can be assigned to pain and suffering and so the amount of damages awarded to the victim needs to be calculated in other ways.

A skilled accident attorney will explain to you that because pain and suffering are subjective to each individual, it may be difficult to come up with an exact dollar amount that will truly compensate the victim for what they have gone through. How those damages are calculated may be dependent on the circumstances of your case and the extent of your injuries. There are two common ways that an attorney may use to determine what amount a victim deserves.

One way is referred to as the multiplier method. In this method, the total amount of medical expenses are multiplied by a number from 1 to 5. The more severe the injury is, the higher the multiplier. The total amount is what is then awarded for pain and suffering.

The second method is called the per diem method. This uses a formula that is based on how much suffering the victim endured each day. For example, the attorney would take the amount of pain the injury caused each day and how many daily activities the victim could not do because of that injury. Whatever that total daily amount is determined to be is then multiplied by how many days the victim was injured.

Contact a Virginia Injury Attorney

If you have been injured in an accident, a seasoned Virginia car accident attorney from Shapiro, Washburn & Sharp can calculate how much you are entitled to in compensation from the at-fault party and can also pursue that claim for you. Call our office today to schedule a free and confidential consultation.

 

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