How Do You Determine the Value of a Personal Injury Case?

Personal injury settlements can be tricky to calculate. If you've never done this before, it's easy to make a mistake and miss out on compensation you're owed, so talk to a personal injury attorney in Long Island as soon as you can to make sure your claim includes everything it should. Calculating "Economic" Damages The first type of damages that you can claim in a personal injury case is reimbursement for all the expenses you've had. These are known as your "economic damages." One of the key expenses here is usually your medical bills. If you've been injured by someone's negligence, you should be reimbursed for all treatment that's related to that injury. You should also be reimbursed for any lost income you had because you weren't able to work. If you work a salaried job and had to use your personal days or sick days, you should be reimbursed for the value of those. If you work an hourly job, you should be reimbursed the wages you lost. If any of your property was damaged, such as a mobile phone or a car, you should be reimbursed for those things. And if you had to lay out extra expenses to deal with your injury, such as hiring childcare because you weren't able to take care of your children while you recovered, this should all be included in your economic damages. more Calculating "Non-Economic" Damages Next, you should be reimbursed for your pain and suffering, mental anguish, loss of enjoyment of life, and other things that are called in the law "non-economic damages." Most of the time, these are calculated either by multiplying the total of your economic damages by a number between one and five (depending on how bad your injuries were), or by assigning a specific dollar amount to each day you suffered and multiplying that by the number of days it took you to fully recover. Your lawyer will tell you the best method for calculating these damages and help you do it well. You'll need to be able to justify these numbers, so you will need things like therapy records, the testimony of family or workmates about your mental state, or possibly your own journal or diary entries. Calculating Punitive Damages & Comparative Negligence Most personal injury cases don't qualify for punitive damages, but your lawyer can tell you if yours might. These are designed to punish the responsible party, and they only apply in cases where someone was wildly reckless or deliberately tried to injure another person. Your lawyer will also help you calculate your degree of fault. Under New York law, your total damages will be reduced by the same percentage as your fault in the incident, so it's important to have a lawyer calculating your claim to make sure you don't miss out on anything more than necessary. For help in calculating your claim, call Miller, Montiel & Strano in Garden City, NY for a free consultation. We serve Long Island and all of Nassau County.

If you've been injured due to someone else's negligence, you have the right to bring a claim to get compensation for what you've lost. One of the most important parts of your claim will be your medical records. Talk to an injury attorney in Long Island right away to get more detail details on your specific situation. By Linking the Injury to the Accident The first important role of your medical records is to show that the injuries you're suffering are connected to the accident. The sooner you visit a doctor after the accident, the clearer this link will be, and it will also help if your doctor has noted in the records that your injuries are consistent with the type of accident you suffered. Never delay getting medical care after an accident. If there's too long a delay, the other side and their insurance company may try to argue that your injuries are unrelated to the accident. more By Giving a Firm Number to Your Economic Losses In a personal injury claim, you'll be asking for compensation for your economic losses or damages. These damages need to be quantified with firm numbers, and your medical records will back up your bills and receipts for medical care and show what was provided to verify that your numbers are correct. Medical bills are often the biggest part of any personal injury claim, so it's crucial to get this right. By Boosting Your Non-Economic Losses Non-economic losses are sometimes referred to as "pain and suffering," and these losses are all difficult to calculate. Pain, mental anguish, loss of enjoyment of life, anxiety: how do you put a number on these things? The courts have found that the best way to deal with it is to calculate your non-economic losses as a percentage of your economic ones. The most common method of doing this is to tabulate all your economic losses and then multiply the total by a number between one and five. The more serious your injuries are and the harder your recovery, the higher that second number will be. Your medical records thus serve two important functions in boosting your total for non-economic losses. First, the higher your medical bills and the higher your economic losses, the bigger that first number, which you'll multiply by one, two, three, four, or five. Second, your medical records will show what you've actually undergone in terms of treatment and recovery. Your medical records will thus be an important way of deciding whether you multiply your economic damages by one, five, or a number in between. Your medical records are a key part of your personal injury claim, but they're not the only thing to consider. Talk to us today at Miller, Montiel & Strano in Garden City, NY for help with your claim. We serve Long Island and Nassau County and are committed to treating each client like a person: not like a number. .

It's often a good idea to contact a lawyer after you've been in an accident, but there are also certain signs that you really need one. Here in New York, our insurance laws are such that, in most accidents, the individual's own insurance covers their losses and damages, regardless of fault. But there are times when you really require a Long Island accident attorney. Signs You Need a Long Island Accident Attorney 1. You're Severely Injured New York has a no-fault system for dealing with traffic accidents, which means that you can't bring a personal injury claim or lawsuit after most accidents. But there are some exceptions. The first is if you have economic damages of more than $50,000. The second exception is if you have sustained a particularly serious injury. These are actually quantified and include dismemberment or being significantly disfigured; losing an unborn baby; permanent loss of the use of any part of your body; bone fractures; a significant limitation to the use of any part of your body; or less permanent injury, if it keeps you from being able to do your daily life routine for at least 90 days of the 180 days immediately following the accident. Some of these descriptions are a bit subjective, so talk to a lawyer to get a better sense of whether your injuries qualify. more 2. The Insurance Company Denies Your Claim Whether you are bringing a claim to your insurance company or against the other driver, a denied claim could be a huge frustration. Insurance companies love to deny claims for spurious reasons, hoping that you'll get discouraged and just go away. A lawyer will fight on your side and push the insurance company to pay you what they owe. 3. You're Being Falsely Blamed If the other party suffered serious losses and can't get full compensation from their own insurance company, it's not inconceivable that they may falsely accuse you of being responsible for the accident. If that's happening, you need the help of a lawyer right away. Your lawyer will investigate the accident on your behalf and aggressively defend you. 4. There Are Multiple Parties Involved Even if there are multiple parties, so long as your losses and damages are not that serious, you'll have to turn to your own insurance company for coverage. But if you have significant losses and there are many parties involved, it can get tricky to work out who should be responsible. A lawyer can help you here. This might be especially important if the accident was caused by a large commercial vehicle, as these types of accidents tend to create very bad injuries and a lot of property damage because of the size of the vehicles involved. If there are several parties who have all been hurt and had substantial losses, it's important to be sure that your claim doesn't get lost in the shuffle. For help after a car accident, contact us now at Miller, Montiel & Strano in Garden City, NY for help anywhere in the New York City area.