How is a claim for a car accident with injuries calculated?

I am sorry about your unfortunate incident and I am glad you are OK and it wasn't more serious.  For the damage to your vehicle, you should obviously settle for $10,000.  However, if the damage exceeds the fair market value of your car, it will be rendered "total" and you will be entitled to the fair market value (blue book value) of your vehicle.  You are also obviously entitled to money for a rental vehicle.  This is true even if you should decide not to rent a car (i.e. drive your second car, borrow a car, take the bus, etc.)  You are entitled to the loss of use of your vehicle which equals its daily rental value times the days you lost its use regardless of whether you rented a car or not.  Furthermore, you are entitled to the earnings you lost when you were off work for your injuries, specially if your physician recommended time off work.

Now that the easy part is over, let's get to the more complicated area which is how much should you settle for the injuries that you suffered?   The answer is it depends.  There are two possible scenarios:

1st Scenario: You only suffered from a few days (at most a couple of weeks) of muscle pain and soreness.  Your symptoms have all resolved and now you are completely back to normal.  If this is the case, I advise against hiring a lawyer.  You could settle such a case on your own and save the fees you would pay a lawyer.  Call me and tell me more details regarding how long your pain persisted, how severe or intense your pain was, how interfering it was with your daily activities as well as how much you paid in medical bills and I will tell you how much you should settle for.  In addition, I will give you a few negotiation tips to use in dealing with the insurance company.  Of course, I will do so with pleasure and free of charge.

2nd Scenario:  A couple of weeks has passed since the incident and your symptoms have persisted and not resolved completely.  You are still having pain, soreness, stiffness, tingling numbness, and perhaps other symptoms although perhaps not as frequently and intensely as the first few days after the incident.  In this case, you should definitely not settle your case.  You should hire a lawyer and engage in a course of physical therapy as recommended by your physician.  If your symptoms persist even beyond that, you should consult with an orthopedic specialist and consider getting an MRI to rule out potential spinal disc damage.  Our spine and the soft area between the vertebral bones (discs) are designed for rotation, bending, lifting small objects, etc.  Our spine is not designed to endure the trauma which results from a sudden whip-like motion that is common in hard impact rear end collisions.  Too often, upon such impact the spinal discs sustain small tears or bulges which usually go undetected by many doctors and chiropractors.  Only proper orthopedic exams and MRIs can detect such injuries.  In most instances such injuries become worst with passage of time and manifest themselves in painful ways.  I have had many clients who 6 months or a year after the accident, started experiencing severe pain and found out they had disc herniation which required injections or surgeries.  Such extreme measures may be avoided if these injuries are detected early on.  You will need a lawyer in such a case to recover for you all your past, current and future medical care cost as well as money for past, current and future pain, suffering, inconvenience, and loss of enjoyment of life.  Insurance companies will often drag these cases out into litigation in which case, you will certainly need the assistance of a lawyer.  Such cases should not settle until one has exhausted all diagnostic measures available and is certain they have no permanent life-long injury.  A car accident victim may live a life time without a completely healthy and normal back or neck.

I really hope you fit in the 1st scenario.  If so call me and I will help you settle your case.  If you fit in the 2nd scenario, I will be happy to represent you and guide you further in seeking the proper care and treatment.  If I represent you, I will not charge you a fee until after I have obtained a settlement for you.  Either which way, please let me know how best I can help and serve you.

Warmest regards,

Joseph Farzam

(310) 226-6890

farzam@lawyer.com

Here is your bottom line; in 99.9% of cases, you will not obtain a settlement without a personal injury attorney that is even close to what you would receive with an attorney. You should go to my website at www.thepersonalinjury.com and read up on car accidents. Also read the client section to see what you are entitled to in these types of cases.

I will give you a free consultation if you call me at 800-816-1529 x 1; you have nothing to lose and everything to gain.

My firm handles cases like this all over California. The only thing you should be worried about right now is getting better. You should allow an attorney like me to handle everything else for you.

Norm

The above advice is excellent.  Bottom line, I'd like to rep. you to help you maximize your recovery from the insurance companies involved. If you are in my area ( So. Cal.), feel free to email me at actionlaw@yahoo.com for referrals to good treatment providers.  If you're not in my area, I can refer you to an attorney in your area.  Be advised, we do charge a contingency fee of one third.  I am a California  lawyer in good standing.

Your case has two separate claims; property damage and personal injury.  The amount of the property damage claim would be the cost of repairs ($10,000 plus the rental car bill).

The amount to request for your personal injury claim as compensation for pain and suffering cannot be determined until you complete your medical treatment.  When you complete your medical treatment,  the medical reports will document the nature and extent of your injuries and will be used to determine the amount to request as compensation for pain and suffering.  Your personal injury claim will also include compensation for your medical bills and wage loss.