If you have been injured in an accident, you have probably had to go to plenty of doctor’s appointments, missed a lot of work, and received multiple bills. You may have wondered what bills are generally covered by insurance and what bills are not claimable. You may have also been concerned with how much money you can get for pain and suffering after an accident.
There is not an official formula for deciding how much you will get when you are injured in a collision. However, there are a few typical methods that insurance adjusters will use when trying to determine the amount of compensation each claimant gets.
How Medical Compensation is Determined
Whenever you have an accident, it is important to save a record of every medical bill that you acquire. You should also save the receipts from any medications you buy, whether they are prescription or non-prescription.
There are two different Insurance rules in the United States; fault and no-fault. If you live in a no-fault state, your own auto insurance will pay for expenses related to car accidents, no matter who is at fault for the crash. In a fault state like Georgia, the insurance company of the driver who caused the accident is responsible for paying the accident’s associated bills.
When you have an accident, it is important to call the police and wait for them to arrive. You should never admit to guilt at the scene.
An injured person who was partially responsible for a car accident will only be able to receive partial compensation for their bills. The courts will determine each party’s fault. If you were 40% responsible for an accident and the other driver was 60% responsible for the accident, you will only be compensated for 60% of your bills. The driver who bears the brunt of the responsibility for the accident will not be able to file a claim against the other driver’s insurance company.
Compensation for Pain and Suffering
There is no law stating that pain and suffering payouts have to be tabulated in a certain manner. Some insurance companies will use a multiplier system. The system will take your level of pain and suffering on a scale of 1 to 5 and multiply it with your overall medical bills. For example, if your medical bills were $2,000 and your pain and suffering is a level 2, your pain and suffering would be compensated by $4,000.
Getting Money for Your Car
If your car was damaged due to another driver’s negligence, you will be compensated for the repair bills. If the damages to the car cost more than the car is worth, your car will be considered totaled, and you will be paid for whatever the value of the car would have been one second before the accident.
Driver’s in the state of Georgia must carry $25,000 for bodily injury per person, $50,000 for bodily injury per accident, and $25,000 for property damage per accident. If the bills from your accident exceed the amount for which the at-fault driver was covered, you may have to file a lawsuit.
The aftermath of an accident is not fun. You will have to spend a lot of time concentrating on getting better. Making sure you have the money to pay your bills will make recovery easier and less stressful.
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