Car accident settlement amounts depend on factors such as the insurance coverage held by the motorists involved, liability, and the severity of the injuries and property damage. However, other factors may also play a role. For example, punitive damages may be calculated in a settlement if the other party was acting recklessly and in conscious disregard to others.
There are statistics from the Illinois Department of Transportation regarding costs associated with traffic accidents in the state, based on 2021 traffic accident data. These costs include not only medical expenses paid for injuries, but also lost wages and other damages.
- Incapacitating injuries were estimated to cost $105,750, on average. Such injuries include broken limbs and or disabling injuries that prevent a person from doing everyday activities, such as walking.
- Injuries that did not turn out to be incapacitating, but were evident at the scene of the accident, were estimated to cost $30,570 on average.
- Injuries not immediately visible to the eye were estimated to cost $25,020.
- Fatalities were estimated to cost $1,832,220.
- Property damage crashes were estimated to cost $4,920.
However, there are other factors that may cause your total settlement amount to increase beyond those amounts.
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What Factors Impact Settlement Amounts After a Car Accident in Illinois?
The figures listed above are just averages. Your personal injury case can vary greatly, depending on many factors. These include:
Severity of Injuries and Medical Expenses
The more severe the injury is, the higher the total cost for treatment. An injury that puts you in a wheelchair for life will cost a lot more than one that only requires a short-term hospital stay, after which you recover fully.
However, the severity of the injuries isn’t the only factor. The medical expenses you incurred is another contributor to the value of your case, and this can vary depending on your healthcare provider.
The total cost of the medical expenses may not be immediately apparent. Your initial hospital bills may only be part of the story. You may require ongoing treatment or rehabilitation, such as physical therapy, to learn how to walk again.
Lost Wages and Future Earning Capacity
Another factor in calculating a settlement is loss of income. If you were in the hospital for several months or needed to stay home and rest, you may have lost out on your regular income. As with your medical bills, you can seek compensation for such losses.
However, things can get more complicated when an injury results in a loss of future earning capacity. For example, if you were a carpenter, and one or both arms became paralyzed, you may no longer be able to continue your craft. In that case, you could file a claim for future lost earnings.
Emotional Distress and Pain and Suffering
The statistics mentioned above were based on the cost of medical bills and the loss of earnings. However, you can also file for compensation for pain and suffering.
Pain and suffering refer both to physical pain you experience as a result of the injury and emotional distress. For example, let’s say the accident caused nerve damage leading to constant tingling, or you experience pain when using your hands or going up the stairs for the rest of your life. You can seek compensation for that as well.
Emotional suffering refers to mental and emotional distress that result from the car accident. For example, if your face was scarred, you may experience feelings of social isolation due to your appearance. This can affect your social life as well as your romantic prospects. That’s true even if the scars don’t cause physical pain.
Emotional suffering can also take on the form of PTSD, nightmares, or other types of distress.
Another factor that determines your settlement amount is liability. Since Illinois uses modified comparative negligence, the total settlement amount could vary based on the percentage of fault you contributed to the accident.
For example, if you were determined to be 30% at fault, you may only be able to recover 70% of the compensation.
Average Car Accident Settlement Amounts in Illinois
Calculating payouts for car accidents is no easy task. Although you may have sufficient insurance coverage, the insurance company does not have your best interests in mind. Instead, the goal of an insurance adjuster is to protect the company’s bottom line. An attorney protects your interests when filing a claim, making them an essential asset under these circumstances.
How Are Settlement Amounts Calculated in a Car Accident Claim?
Car accident settlements are valued based on the sum of the damages suffered by a victim. The details of a case, including evidence that quantifies damages, are examined by insurance companies to determine a settlement award. However, insurance companies are for-profit businesses. The less they pay out to claimants, the more profit they make in the long run. That is one of the top reasons companies lowball insurance settlement offers.
Insurance companies have their own methods for calculating settlement amounts. Usually, they utilize a software, which employs an algorithm to compare your case to similar cases and come up with a settlement amount. Insurance companies may not conduct proper investigations to determine liability.
However, an algorithm is not enough for calculating your claim. For example, pain and suffering is harder to quantify than medical bills. Lost future income opportunities may vary depending on factors such as the future expansion of your business that may have occurred if you were to continue in your line of work.
Victims may take the first settlement offer because they need the cash. However, these offers are frequently well below what the total settlement could be worth.
Unlike insurance companies, car accident attorneys in Chicago are on your side. They can conduct a deeper investigation into the case and bring on experts to help determine and prove that your settlement should be worth more than what the insurance company offered. They can prove that the insurance company was downplaying your injuries to approve only a lower amount, which happens in many cases.
When May a Settlement Be Offered After a Car Accident?
Most of the time, claims don’t end up in court. Insurance companies usually prefer to settle out of court. That’s because the resources they would need to spend on legal cases, in the long run, would end up costing more than what they would settle for outside of court. Therefore, a settlement would typically be offered during the negotiation phase of a claim, rather than after a lengthy court battle. However, the insurance company can offer a settlement at any point during the claims process or trial, until a verdict is delivered by a judge or jury.
How Can Your Car Accident Attorney Help You Through the Settlement Process?
It’s important to have a car accident attorney help you navigate the settlement process. Insurance companies often try to give lowball offers. Since many claimants don’t know better or because they need the cash quickly, they end up agreeing to the offer and signing a release form in which they release the insurance company from paying a higher settlement amount later. This may be a grave mistake.
By refusing an offer (especially for medical bills, which may be ongoing), you may be able to get the company to offer a higher amount. This can be hard to do by yourself, since insurance companies don’t always take claimants seriously if they don’t have attorneys helping them.
If you hire an attorney, though, the insurance company, fearful of the prospect of being taken to court, may end up settling for more than what it was initially willing to offer. Simply having an attorney to handle your case can have that effect.
Attorneys know the tricks and loopholes insurance companies try to use, while you may be unaware of them (and the companies know well that you are unaware of them).
In some cases, it may be worth taking the case to court. For example, if your attorney determines that your compensation should be a lot higher than what is being offered, and the insurance company refuses to budge or negotiate, you could argue the case in court. Or, if the insurance company claimed you were at fault and should not receive compensation, but you disagree, you could take the case to court.What happens when you go to court for a car accident? Your attorney will ensure you are prepared. He or she will collect evidence proving that the other driver was at fault, or evidence proving the value of the settlement. Your lawyer will assist with the selection of jurors, make opening statements, present the evidence that was collected, and make closing statements.
