How to Calculate Your Losses After a Car Accident in Boston
After a car accident, you may be suffering from severe physical pain and emotional anguish. For some people, the pain is ongoing as medical treatments can take a significant physical and mental toll on you. When determining damages for your accident, you can include your pain and suffering as part of your calculations. However, pain and suffering are not always associated with a specific dollar amount, so calculations can be tricky.
Pain and suffering are often calculated in a variety of ways. Attorneys and insurance companies commonly use methods including the multiplier method or the per diem method. You may also need to provide proof of your pain and suffering, such as medical reports, testimony from people close to you, and your own testimony about how you have suffered since your accident. Pain and suffering include physical pain and emotional pain or trauma as a result of your accident.
If you were in a car accident, you might be in a lot of pain. You absolutely deserve to be compensated for any physical and mental pain you have had to endure. For help calculating your damages, get in touch with our Boston car accident lawyers and Boston rental car accident lawyer for help. For a free and confidential consultation, call the Law Office of John J. Sheehan at (617) 925-6407 to help with filing a boston car accident case.
Calculating Your Pain and Suffering After a Car Accident in Massachusetts
It is important to understand that there are different types of damages. For most cases, damages can be divided into two categories of general and special damages. These categories are sometimes referred to as non-economic and economic damages, respectively.
Special or economic damages are related to financial losses that can be accurately measured in dollar amounts. This often includes bills from medical treatment or the cost to repair or replace your vehicle after an accident. There is little need to calculate anything because we already have a specific dollar amount.
General or non-economic damages are less tangible and may not be associated with a specific dollar amount. These damages often require calculation to get a fair and accurate dollar amount. Pain and suffering is a form of general or non-economic damages. There is often more than one way to calculate pain and suffering, and the other party in your case may push back against your calculations.
To calculate pain and suffering, we need evidence. Evidence includes doctors’ reports or testimony about the extent of your injuries. Medical doctors, as well as psychiatric doctors, may provide insight into your pain and suffering. Your own testimony about how pain and suffering have affected your life may also be presented. We can also use the testimony of people close to you to show how the accident has affected your life. Anything that shows how your life has been negatively impacted could be used to prove pain and suffering.
There is no single way to determine these damages and there are several different methods in existence. Many attorneys calculate damages using the multiplier method or the per diem method. You could negotiate the car accident settlement yourself. But to determine the best way to calculate your pain and suffering damages, call our Cambridge car accident attorney today.
Methods of Calculating Pain and Suffering Damages After a Car Accident in Massachusetts
Calculating damages for pain and suffering often involves negotiating with your insurance company. Your attorney will try to argue for a higher monetary value for your pain and suffering, while your insurance company will attempt to keep your calculations low.
The multiplier method involves taking the amount of money you spent on medical care and multiplying it by a certain number. that number is usually between 1.5 and 5 and is determined by the extent of your pain and suffering. The greater your pain, the higher the multiplier number may be. Additionally, the more expensive your medical care is, the greater your pain and suffering damages may be under this method.
Another method is the per diem method. Under this method, your attorney will negotiate for a specific dollar amount paid for each day you spend recovering from your accident. You will be paid until a doctor determines that you have reached a maximum level of improvement. For example, if your insurance company agrees to pay you $100 for each day you are recovering, and it takes 1,000 days until a doctor determines that you have recovered as much as you ever will, your total damages would be $100,000.
Different calculation methods may yield different numbers. You should speak with an attorney about which method is likely to get you the most compensation for your pain and suffering. For a consultation about your damages, call our Malden car accident attorneys and Malden front end car accident lawyer right away.
What Counts as Pain and Suffering After a Car Accident in Massachusetts?
The law does not explicitly define pain and suffering. Pain and suffering are somewhat vague terms that could describe any kind of trauma a person may suffer. However, pain and suffering have been found to include both physical and mental pain. This means you can recover damages for pain from your physical injuries in addition to mental suffering.
Physical pain is often demonstrated through medical records and possibly testimony from a medical expert. Physical pain can include pain from your injuries, any physical impairment, or pain from medical treatment like surgeries.
Mental or emotional pain is sometimes a bit harder to prove as it can be felt but not seen. Mental pain and suffering often include emotional or mental trauma after a car accident. These are factors impacting Boston car accident settlements. For example, after a car accident, a person could be so scared of driving to the point that they cannot even drive themselves to work. These symptoms appear after a car accident. Mental pain and suffering can also include anxiety, depression, grief, and a general loss of enjoyment of your own life. Call our Wakefield car accident lawyers for help determining your physical and mental pain and suffering.
Call Our Massachusetts Car Accident Attorneys for a Free Legal Consultation About your Case
If you or a loved one was injured in a car accident, you might be entitled to damages for your mental and physical pain and suffering. For a free legal consultation regarding your situation, call the Law Office of John J. Sheehan at (617) 925-6407.