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People are injured in all types of accidents every day. California has the unfortunate distinction of being one of the states with the highest rate of fatal car accidents in the U.S.
This means driving in the state increases the risk of being in an accident, whether fatal or not, at any given time. California protects the rights of victims injured in car accidents that are not their fault. Victims can pursue compensation, hoping to receive a payout to cover their losses.
However, unsurprisingly, many people find the settlement process confusing and frustrating, especially if they have not dealt with legal proceedings before. And more often than not, when people receive an eventual settlement, they are disappointed with the final figure.
If you are injured in a car accident, the injury severity helps determine the settlement amount you get. But, it is crucial to remember that this is not the only factor in calculating your settlement.
As a California resident, you must keep your expectations realistic to avoid disappointment when your case is resolved.
How Settlements are Calculated
The point of claiming compensation after an accident that leaves you injured is to get money to pay your subsequent bills. You will have medical expenses to cover and lost income to make up.
Not to mention that you will have to get your car fixed. Amid this process, you will likely experience symptoms of trauma and emotional distress. These symptoms will relate directly to the traumatic experience of being in a car accident.
In some cases, severe emotional trauma leads to a loss of enjoyment of life. Together with PTSD and mental anguish, a loss of enjoyment of life can be classified as non-economic damages.
When you hire a lawyer to assist you with your case, the lawyer will calculate economic and non-economic damages.
If someone’s extreme negligence or recklessness caused your injuries, your lawyer may include punitive damages as part of the initial demand letter. However, punitive damages are rarely awarded in California.
With all this said, it is also crucial to remember that not every expense or inconvenience will always be fully reimbursed. To receive a high settlement covering all your damages, you must prove every aspect of your case.
Why You May Think a Settlement Is Unfair
California follows a pure comparative negligence system. This means that you can still claim compensation even if you were partly to blame for the accident and your injuries.
You will be assigned a percentage of fault, and your final compensation amount will be deducted from the same amount. For instance, if your lawyer gets you a payout of $100,000, but your fault percentage is 30%, you will only receive $70,000.
On the one hand, you get to recover damages. Conversely, you may feel the deductions are unfair, especially if your fault percentage is disputed.
Insurance Company Tactics
Insurance companies usually handle settlements, except in cases where the at-fault party has no insurance. An insurer will not go out of its way to offer fair compensation. The reason for this is that an insurer puts its business operations first.
Whether you have been severely injured or not, the at-fault party’s insurer will question everything about your claim. This includes your medical treatments and non-economic damages.
In a bid to pay less, the insurer will likely claim that some of your treatments were excessively expensive or even unnecessary. The insurance adjuster may use industry standards or ‘algorithms’ to downplay your non-economic damages.
If these tactics do not work, the insurer may pressure you into accepting a lowball settlement before the full extent of your injuries is known.
If you try and spar with an insurer without a lawyer to help you, your negotiations may feel like an uphill battle. The insurer will likely use complex language to confuse you. This may also result in you deciding without the necessary information.
When you accept a lowball offer, you will likely be highly disappointed with your payout. Lowball offers never cover all expenses, which means you will have to pay for the rest of your bills and damages out of pocket.
California’s High Medical Costs
California is known for its high cost of living, and medical expenses are no exception. Even if you have health insurance, accident-related costs can skyrocket due to:
- Out-of-network charges
- Diagnostic tests like MRIs or CT scans
- Specialist fees if you need to be treated by a surgeon or neurologist
You will likely feel shortchanged if your settlement does not account for these steep costs. Even if you have Med-Pay that covers emergency costs, you may need to reimburse your insurer the Med-Pay money when your settlement comes in. This further reduces your net settlement.
Insurance Policies Have Limits
Even when the at-fault party is entirely to blame, their insurance policy limits can cap the settlement amount.
For instance, if the at-fault party pays your claim from their minimum liability insurance, their policy may be capped at the minimum amounts. These include, for bodily injury, $15,000 and $30,000 per person and per accident, respectively. For property damage, the minimum coverage is $5,000.
If the at-fault driver only has minimum coverage, your damages will likely exceed these limits. This means you may have to rely on uninsured or underinsured motorist coverage.
Otherwise, you may not get anywhere near the compensation amount you require.
Realistic Expectations are Key
You should not file a personal injury case for your own sake, hoping you will have a million-dollar settlement. Ignore the media and movies’ portrayal of settlements as enormous windfalls.
The reality is that your settlement will be calculated on actual losses and legal standards. This goes for economic and non-economic damages calculations.
Whatever the factors that play into your personal injury case, it is natural to feel disappointed or angry if your settlement does not meet your expectations.
This is why it is so important to understand how a lawyer will approach the calculations and what an insurer will do with them.
California’s personal injury laws are designed to be fair. But, as with most things in life, the system is imperfect. If you know what to expect and work closely with your lawyer, you will, at the very least, get a settlement that covers your largest expenses.
