While you may be entitled to compensation to cover these bills, unfortunately, they won't be paid immediately. This leads many accident victims to suffer from their injuries and the stress and anxiety of knowing that their medical bills are piling up. Many want to know how much their case is worth before a settlement is granted.

If you're curious how much you should expect to get in a personal injury claim settlement, Meldon Law Firm offers free consultations in Gainesville. One of their compassionate lawyers will evaluate your case and ensure you receive compensation for all your damages.

A Detailed Look at Compensation and Personal Injury Claims

To receive the maximum compensation from a personal injury claim, you'll want to work with an experienced attorney with a background in your particular type of case. Without their guidance, you'll most likely not realize that if you are offered a settlement, it'll be for much less than your case is worth. Insurance companies claim investigators are paid to minimize liability and costs, so without a legal team, you'll most likely miss out on everything you can claim.

Depending on the details of your injuries, you can seek compensation for several damages. Your personal injury attorney can help you to identify everything that should be included in your claim for compensation. Compensatory damages are usually economic and non-economic.

What Are Economic Damages?

In a Florida personal injury lawsuit, economic damages are easily quantifiable financial losses you've incurred because of the accident and the injuries it caused. These can be for financial losses you've already incurred and those that are expected in the future. Your lawyer will tally up past, current, and expected expenses to place a monetary value on your economic damages. Typical economic damages can include the following:

 ● Past and expected medical bills - Past and expected medical bills not only include the costs of surgeries, doctors' appointments, and x-rays but can also include any other current or expected injury-related expenses. Examples of such are the costs of mobility aids, travel expenses to and from medical appointments, and prescription medications.

● The costs of mental health services - Many victims of severe accidents suffer from psychological trauma such as nightmares and PTSD. Plaintiffs can seek compensation relating to the cost of mental health counselling.

● Past and future lost wages and benefits - Economic damages can include any lost wages due to the accident and expected lost wages. Depending on the victim's recovery time, loss of wages compensation can be a considerably large amount of money.

● Household services - If the victim cannot maintain their household and now requires the help of homecare services, these expenses can also be included as economic losses. Examples of household services can include house cleaning, lawn care, and home healthcare aids.

What Are Non-Economic Damages?

Non-economic damages are those that aren't easily quantifiable. They're also the ones that a defendant's legal team may challenge. Fortunately, a savvy personal injury attorney can provide evidence to prove that they are valid. Although there's no physical bill to prove them, many can easily have a value placed upon them. Examples of non-economic damages can include:

● Physical pain and suffering

● Loss of consortium

● Mental anguish

● Scarring and disfigurement

● Loss of enjoyment of life

● Permanent disabilities and impairment

Non-economic damages don't come with set monetary amounts. However, they are typically based on the injury’s severity, treatment’s length, and the impact on the victim's life. The multiplier method of assigning value to non-economic damage assigns a multiplier between 1.5 and 5—the more severe the change in the victim's life, the higher the multiplier. A catastrophic change would be assigned a multiplier of 5.

For instance, if the value of physical pain and suffering were $50,000 and had a multiplier of 2, the compensation would be $100,000.

Another way of calculating non-economic damages is to use the per diem method. Using this method, a daily monetary value is calculated for the loss and multiplied by how many days it's reasonably foreseen the victim will experience it. If the daily rate is $250 and the victim is expected to ensure 200 days of suffering, its value is $50,000.

How Compensation Is Calculated in a Florida Personal Injury Case Explained

When filing a Florida personal injury case, you're not only seeking justice but also to be compensated for your losses. These fall into two categories - economic and non-economic. While things such as medical bills and the expenses associated with your physical recovery are easily quantified, non-economic damages can present a challenge since the defendant's legal team often challenges them.

To ensure you receive payment for all of your damages, you'll want to hire an experienced personal injury attorney with a background in negotiating successful settlements with your type of accident. Without an expert on your side, you'll never receive the best possible compensation.