After being involved in a serious car accident, there are a lot of things that a victim needs to do in order to get their life back in order. If the injuries are serious, then it is essential that the victim gets immediate and comprehensive medical attention as the first priority. From there, they will need to deal with many more things including the possibility of a legal case, negotiations for the money that they deserve from the insurance company, recovery, and more.
While you are recovering from your injuries, it is entirely understandable that every trip to the doctors, each physical therapy session, and each missed day of work will add to your stress and worry about your financial situation. As your debts and lost wages compound, it is extremely important that you have a clear understanding of the process you will go through in order to get the compensation that you deserve while you are working with a car accident attorney in Fort Lauderdale. Luckily, personal injury settlements are designed to compensate you for all of these losses and expenses, in addition to the actual pain and suffering that you will have to endure during your recovery.
Knowing this, it is important that you begin working with an attorney as soon as possible. It has been shown that stress plays a major role in recovery from physical injury, so the sooner that you have legal counsel, the sooner you will be able to focus on getting your life back on track. 1800-Injured has a robust referral network of experienced, aggressive personal injury attorneys who are ready to take your case. Read more below about how your attorney will factor your physical therapy expenses into your settlement or lawsuit damages.
What Is a Personal Injury Settlement?
It is no secret that a car accident is a costly experience to go through. In addition to the damage to your car and other pieces of personal property, it is likely that you endured injuries of your own. Not only will you need to worry about missing work as a result of your injuries, but you will also need to watch medical bills accumulate, pay for physical therapy sessions, buy assistive devices such as crutches, a wheelchair, or other devices depending on the severity of your injury.
In addition to the measurable expenses and costs of your injury, which are collectively referred to as “economic damages” in a personal injury settlement case, you will also need to endure the pain and suffering of your injuries, the emotional and mental anguish that comes with these injuries, and possible depression and fear after your accident. A personal injury attorney will fight for compensation for these issues as well, in the form of “non-economic damages.” Together, economic and non-economic damages are what make up a personal injury settlement.
Calculating Physical Therapy Economic Damages In a Car Accident Settlement
When a personal injury attorney sets out to calculate the amount of money that their client is owed for damages following their car accident, they will initially work to calculate the overall costs and losses of the actual, measurable damages. This includes compiling receipts, invoices, and bills for things like hospital stays, ambulances, surgeries, and other immediate medical care. In addition, it will likely include the costs or copays for any required physical therapy.
These types of damages are fairly simple to calculate, since your attorney will simply compile all expenses in addition to any lost wages from missed work. However, this is only half of the process for calculating the damages you are owed for your physical therapy.
Calculating Non-Economic Damages For Physical Therapy
In addition to the economic costs of your physical therapy, it is also likely that you have had to endure painful exercises and recovery processes in order to hopefully recover your full use of the injured parts of your body. This suffering is one part of the non-economic damages that your attorney will work to compile.
Since there is no set dollar value to things like physical suffering, you and your attorney will work to determine a “multiplier,” a number that will clearly illustrate the extent of your injuries to the insurance company or the judge and jury during a full lawsuit. This multiplier is then applied to the total economic damages in order to reach an actual dollar amount. For example, a multiplier of 3x and a total of $100,000 in economic damages will result in $300,000 in non-economic damages sought by the victim.
Contact 1800-Injured Today
The sooner you find an attorney through our network of experienced and trustworthy partners, the sooner you will be able to have a more clear idea of the money that you are rightfully owed. Contact us now to get working on this important first step as soon as possible.