Being involved in a truck accident will take an enormous toll on you, regardless if the crash was significant or minor. Physical, emotional, and mental consequences convert into dozens of after-accident costs that are difficult to keep track of and calculate on your own.
If you or your loved one was involved in a commercial truck accident, your family has accumulated medical bills, missed work, recorded property damage, or even lost wages due to the injury. These increase over time, especially as known injuries develop into severe conditions requiring additional hospital visits, doctor appointments, and potential surgery.
Without an estimate for your truck accident settlement, you cannot be sure your family can afford the tragedy. Although we cannot give a specific dollar amount to your truck accident settlement without understanding your unique case details, we can provide general principles that will give you a closer estimate for calculating your truck accident settlement.
How Do I Know How Much My Case is Worth?
As with car accidents, several factors determine how much you can get out of any truck accident case.
Who was at Fault?
If you were at fault, you could expect that it would affect the credibility of your claim. The settlement amount you are entitled to will reduce in proportion to the degree of your contribution to the damage you suffered.
However, if the truck driver was totally at fault, you have a stronger claim with the insurance company, especially if the total cost of the damage is high.
Economic Damages
These include the following:
- Expenses Medical Treatment: Economic damages include your medical bills if you have spent money on the treatment of bodily injuries. Your medical bills’ total cost often depends on the severity of the accident injury.
- Property Damage: If the crash affected your car or other personal properties, the cost of fixing or replacing the vehicle or any other personal property typically goes into calculating the settlement amount you deserve.
- Lost Wages: Lost wages refer to the total dollar value of each sick day or time you took away from work due to the injury. For instance, if your wages per day are $100 and you missed work for 5 days due to the injury from the truck accident, your lost wages compensation will be $500.
- Lost Future Earnings: In a situation where you miss work or your injury requires that you take more time off to recover, you deserve compensation to pay for the money you could be earning. The calculation here follows the same pattern as the wages you lost.
- Future Medical Expenses: This is calculated based on how much you expect to pay for future medical treatments relating to the crash. Future medical expenses may also arise from permanent impairment relating to the accident.
Pain and Suffering
Pain and suffering are non-economic damages that your truck accident attorneys will calculate for you. Most insurance companies rate the victim’s pain and suffering on a scale of 1 to 5. Usually, your pain and suffering depend on the severity of your injury. If it is a severe case, attracting substantial medical bills, your pain and suffering damages will most likely hit a 5.
Multiplying that with your total compensatory economic damages gives you the value of your pain and suffering.
State Where the Accident Happened
The settlement amount you receive depends on if the truck accident occurred in a pure tort state or a No-Fault state. In a No-Fault state like Michigan, accident victims can either choose to go for the state’s no-fault benefits or file a claim for damages with the insurance company of the at-fault or negligent out-of-state truck driver.
Insurance Policy Limits
There are three essential external insurance policy limits to consider when calculating your truck accident settlement estimate: the at-fault truck driver’s, the truck owner’s, and the trucking company owner’s. If you decide to file a claim with your insurance carrier, the limits on your uninsured and underinsured motorist policies will also determine how much cash you’ll get for damages.
Our Personal Injury Lawyers Help Find Your Truck Accident Settlement
Although these general principles will give you rough estimates for calculating your truck accident settlement amount, they do not account for the specific nuances in your case. No blog or website can ever offer a true truck accident settlement calculator, which leaves you and your family in the dark for paying medical and auto bills.
Our team at Strickland and Kendall would be glad to answer any questions you have about truck accident settlements and even begin the process to calculate yours through a free consultation. We are a personal and results-driven law firm, meaning that we take your settlement seriously and desire to help you discover the amount you are eligible for based on your personal injury claim.
You can always schedule your free consultation over the phone 24 hours a day by calling (334).269.3230 or filling out our online form.