If you have been injured in an accident due to the negligence of another, you are entitled to file a personal injury claim.

One of the most crucial aspects in a personal injury claim is determining how much your injuries are worth, since it is very difficult to figure out. The amount of an injury differs depending on the situation.

Types of Damages

In determining how much your personal injury claim is worth, the types of damages, which can be compensated, must first be identified. An individual who is liable for an accident that resulted in personal injury must pay the victim or the person who got injured by means of his/her liability insurance company for the following:

• Medical expenses and other related costs

• Lost earnings because of the accident, due to the time that was spent for undergoing medical treatment for your injuries or for being unable to go to work

• Long term or permanent physical disfigurement or disability

• Lost educational, family, and social experiences, including special events, recreation or vacation, or missed training or school

• Property damage

• Emotional damages, including stress, depression, embarrassment, or burden on relationships with your family (such as interference with sexual relationships, inability to take care of children, angst over the effects of an accident on an unborn child)

Damages Formula of Insurance Companies

Even though determining the worth of compensation is typically as simple as adding together the money that was lost and the money that was spent, there is still no exact manner of putting a price on emotional damages, such as missed experiences, opportunities that were lost, or pain and suffering. This makes it complicated. In such situations, insurance companies' damages formula comes in.

At the beginning of claim negotiations, the sum of medical expenses related to injury, called as "medical special damages" or simply "specials," are added up by an insurance adjuster. The adjuster uses this as the basis in determining the amount to be paid to the injured person for suffering, pain, and other non-monetary losses, which are referred to as "general damages."

The amount of special damages is multiplied by the insurance adjuster, depending on the degree of injury. If the injury is relatively minor, the amount of special damages is multiplied by 1.5 or 2. If the injury, on the other hand, is very painful, serious, or long lasting, the insurance adjuster multiplies the amount by 5.

There are severe cases in which the multiplier may possibly be as high as 10.

Any earnings lost due to injuries sustained from the accident is then added by the adjuster.

The outcome of the damages formula is not the final amount of compensation, it is only the figure in which claim negotiations start.

Getting Help

Personal injury claim negotiations are complicated, taking into account the various factors that need to be considered. If you are in Los Angeles, there are competent personal injury attorneys in your area that may be more than willing to help you with your legal concerns. An attorney who is experienced in handling such cases understands the difficulty that you might be experiencing and will most certainly do everything he/she can do to help you.