Auto Claims

Car Accident Settlement Calculator? Calculating Settlement Value of a Case

Page Updated: January 7, 2023


Car Accident Settlement Calculator
Calculating Settlement Value of a Case


Approximately 6 million car accidents happen every year.  Injured victims are left wondering, how much is my case worth?

Through the fog of search results, you are bound to discover websites with a “settlement calculator.”  You are about to learn these accident settlement calculators are a trap.

Settlement Calculators are Worthless

In this guide you, and the new attorneys reading, will learn:

   The unreliability and inaccuracy of accident settlement calculators

   The 4 relevant variables to answering, how much my case is worth?

   Facts related to each variable

   How the variables work together in a sliding scale fashion from case to case

   A tutorial on questioning attorneys before you hire them, to ensure they are not settlement mills

Let’s jump right in, and debunk the accident settlement calculator myth so you can really find out how to answer how much your case is worth.

Chapter 1:

Settlement Calculators are Worthless


Valuing Cases
Accident Settlement Calculator Approach


Injury Claim Calculator: Too Good to Be True?  Yes!

With a car accident settlement calculator, purportedly, by adding 1 + 1 + 1 + 1, you will have a good idea of how much your case is worth.  Easy, right?

The old adage of, “if it’s too good to be true, it is,” applies here.  It is not that easy.  Worse, car accident settlement calculators are dangerous, and present a hazard to your case.

 

The good news is, after reading this article you will do more than know the hazard.  You will know how to spot it, avoid it, and understand the real way to value a case.

Personal Injury Settlement Calculators are Inherently Flawed

As you are about to learn, there are 4 variables that control the value of your case.  That “value”, or “worth”, is not a specific number.  It is a likely range of settlements and verdicts.

An injury claim calculator only accounts for 2 out of 4 of the variables.  That means if you rely on an accident settlement calculator, you will ignore 50% of the variables that control the value of your case.

It gets worse.  For the 2 variables that settlement calculators do consider, they ignore the flexibility and variance involved in computing the value of those 2 variables.

Let’s summarize the accuracy of an injury claim calculator:

Settlement Calculator Does Not Consider all 4 Variables

Here is an oversimplified example to illustrate this point.  Let’s say we can pin down the exact dollar value that each variable brings to the table for your case, as follows:

Variable 1: $50,000

Variable 2: $50,000

Variable 3: $50,000

Variable 4: $50,000

In this example, your case is worth $200,000.  A car accident settlement calculator will tell you it’s worth only $100,000.  Do you want to leave $100,000 of settlement money on the table?  Of course not.  So do not use or rely on a settlement calculator, or a lawyer who relies on one, and you decrease the chances of that happening.

Settlement Calculators are Not Helpful, at All

You may be reading this and think:

♦   Settlement calculators are at least a little helpful, right?

♦   Even if they ignore 80% of the relevant information, they help give me some insight to case worth, right?

NO!  That is exactly what we are trying to explain, and why we wrote this article.  Personal injury settlement calculators are not helpful.  Ignore them entirely.  They are completely worthless.  This money is more valuable to you than a settlement calculator:

settlement calculator is worthless

Better yet, the calculator on your smart phone is better – because it does the same math as these purported personal injury calculators without tricking you into thinking it does something that it does not.

Be Wary of Lawyers with Settlement Calculators on their Websites

WARNING – be wary of a lawyer or law firm who has a personal injury calculator on their website.  It is a red flag that:

♦   The lawyer / law firm may not invest time in learning how YOU were personally hurt

♦   The lawyer / law firm could be running a settlement mill

♦   This is the kind of lawyer / law firm who might take detrimental shortcuts

Why does a lawyer using a settlement calculator indicate these dangers to you and your case?

Two main reasons:

♦   Each case is unique

♦   Finding out the real value of a case takes a LOT of work; i.e., time

A lawyer who relies in any way on a personal injury settlement calculator is to some extent avoiding doing a deep dive into some, or all, of her or his cases.  This prevents the lawyer from learning how YOUR injuries are uniquely hurtful to you, which dictates the damages in your case.

Why would a lawyer do that?  Economics.  By avoiding that deep dive, the lawyer is able to spend less time on your case and, therefore, take on more cases.

An example illustrates the point:

♦   Let’s say a lawyer works 40 hours a week

♦   If the lawyer spends 1 hour on each case per week, that’s 40 cases worked on per week

♦   If the lawyer does a deep dive on each case and spends 2 hours on each case per week, that’s 20 cases worked on per week

You can see how the economics of running a law firm work hand-in-hand and make using shortcuts, like use of a settlement calculator, tempting for some lawyers.  Some law firms focus on the people a little more.  Some law firms focus on the profits a little more.  Use of a personal injury calculator is some indication of that.


Valuing Cases
The “Multiples” Approach


Hot Tip:  The “Multiples” Approach is a “Settlement Calculator” in Disguise

What is the “multiples” approach to valuing motor vehicle accident cases?  It is easier to explain with real numbers, so let’s look at an example:

 

♦   Your medical expenses are $10,000

♦   Your lost wages are $5,000

♦   So your total economic damages are $15,000

♦   Your case is worth 2-3x (i.e., the “multiple”) of your economic damages

♦   Thus, your case is worth $30,000 to $45,000

That is still a settlement calculator!  It is just not as obvious.  That is why we consider the multiples approach to valuing auto accident claims a wolf in sheep’s clothing.

We already know what will happen, and it goes like this:

You:  Mr. Attorney, I read that settlement calculators are worthless, you don’t use them, do you??

Attorney:  Uhhh, no, of course not

You:  Good!  So how do you value my case?

Attorney:  Well we look at your damages and based on it’s strength or weakness, we know what the case is worth

You:  How do you get from the strengths and weaknesses to the case worth?

Attorney:  Well, we, uh, can figure out the range based on your damages?

You:  But how?

Attorney:  [sweating]  

You know why the attorney will sweat, and struggle to give you an answer?  Because a “multiples” approach is a settlement calculator in disguise.  The only difference between a “multiples” approach and a settlement calculator approach is this:

methods of valuing accident cases

That’s right, it’s just a fancier settlement calculator.  It still ignores key variables, it ignores the variance within those variables, and it avoids a necessary deep dive into the facts of your case.

Multiples Approach is Also Defective and Unreliable

In fairness to the multiples approach, it does provide a range (e.g., typical multiple of 2x to 5x) based on the generically perceived strength of the case.  In consideration of that, here’s the accuracy table for the multiples approach:

multiples approach accuracy table

If you were injured in a motor vehicle accident and looking for a quick answer to the question of what is my case worth, or a new personal injury attorney trying to learn how to value cases, we appreciate this – busting the myth of settlement calculators and the multiples approach – is bad news.  Why?  Because the multiples approach and settlement calculator approaches are the ONLY simple answers, and you just learned they are both worthless.

If the most commonly marketed techniques are worthless, how are settlement figures calculated?  We mentioned there are 4 variables that shape the value of your case.  Continue reading to Chapter 2 to learn what they are, and you’ll have more answers.


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Chapter 2:

The 4 Variables That Control Your Accident Settlement & Verdict


Introduction to the 4 Variables


There are 4 variables that control the value of your case.  It’s pointless to know what they are without understanding them first.  Nonetheless, we won’t make you wait to learn what they are.  For that reason, we will identify them now, and discuss them each in turn below.  They are:

♦   Economic Damages

♦   Non-Economic Damages

♦   Intangibles

♦   Technique

Let’s tackle them in that order, starting with the first part, economic damages.


The 4 Variables
Part 1:  Economic Damages


Economic Damages Defined

In non-lawyer talk, economic damages are the losses you suffered in motor vehicle accident that the judge or jury can place an arguably definite number on.  These are also referred to as your special damages.  Special damages are those losses you could, more or less, assign a somewhat objective number to.  You’ll understand why we say “arguably,” in a little bit.  But first let’s explain what economic damages are with some examples:

♦   Medical bills

♦   Lost wages / lost earnings

♦   Future medical expenses

♦   Future lost wages

♦   Vehicle damage

It sounds like simple math (something a calculator can do), so you might think it’s as simple as:

economic damages math

Or specifically, let’s say you did not miss any work, your car was not damaged, and you had one doctor visit related to the accident.  That bill was $238.59.  Your total economic damages are $238.59.

Easy breezy, right?  Wrong.  We’ll explain why using an example.

Economic Damages Problem:  Necessary Treatment

Returning to the word “arguable,” here is the hurdle.  Not all medical care that you get after an accident is automatically recoverable.

An example illustrates the challenge:

♦   Let’s say you received 57 physical therapy sessions after your accident

♦   Up to the first 30 sessions, your body was getting stronger and recovering

♦   From 31 sessions onward, you did not get any better, but each of those sessions did help you feel better between sessions

♦   Each session cost $100

♦   Thus, your total economic damages are 57 sessions x $100 = $5,700, right??

Wrong.  If you plugged that into a settlement calculator, or hired a lazy attorney who took that $5,700 at face value without a deep dive into the medical records to find out where your actual recovery stopped, you would be in for a disappointing surprise.

The explanation for why is a medical conversation beyond the scope of this article.  It is, however, a recurring problem.  It often arises from a burn-and-churn physical therapy or chiropractor practice that allows money to blind them.  Consequently, they over-treat auto accident victims because this is what they see when you walk into their office: $$$$$.

 

The result of this abuse treatment medical practice?  Going back to the numbers from our example, you have $5,700 in medical expenses but your recoverable economic damages are $3,000.  Ouch.

A good attorney goes a long way with this issue.  There are tailored strategies and techniques an attorney can use to address this challenge.  At Injury Advocates Group, we are familiar with those strategies.  A combination of prevention, damage control, and technical workarounds are within our arsenal to help you.

NOTICE

If you are racking up medical bills and do not yet have a lawyer, you should be very, very concerned.  We often see this economic damages problem with unrepresented auto accident victims. 

You may recall that the intake form you filled out with the physical therapist or chiropractor asked who your attorney was.  If you checked “NONE” and you happened across one of these churn-and-burn medical practices, that check mark acts like a green light for them to start billing their hearts out. 

You need a lawyer to collect and review your medical records immediately.  If you do not, you could get stuck in a situation where your medical liens make it impossible for you to favorably settle your case.  E-Mail us at info@injuryag.com for help.

Many Economic Damages Challenges Exist

We do not want you to think that the unnecessary treatment example above is the only economic damages challenge.  There are many, other potential challenges with economic damages in a motor vehicle accident case.  We refer to them as case vulnerabilities.

How many economic damages case vulnerabilities does your auto personal injury claim have?

How major or minor are those case vulnerabilities?

Have you initiated damage control maneuvers to minimize the harm for those vulnerabilities?

There are only two options.  Either you have a perfect economic damages case (very, very rare) or your case has vulnerabilities that need to be addressed immediately to ensure they do not compromise your case value.  As a side note, lost earnings are a common area of vulnerability for most collision cases.  More often than not, you will have a difficult time getting your full lost earnings reimbursed without savvy footwork.

Given how uncommon a perfect economic damages case is, this is a good time to pick up the phone and call a motor vehicle accident attorney for a free consultation.  Our number is at the top of this page.  If you do not call us, call any other accident lawyer and get help ASAP.  This is not a legal surgery you should perform on yourself.


The 4 Variables
Part 2:  Non-Economic Damages


Non-Economic Damages (i.e., General Damages) Defined

This is not an article about non-economic damages.  For that reason, we will speak in broad strokes without getting into the full gamut of non-economic damages (which are also referred to or known as your “general damages”). In its simplest terms, non-economic damages refers to the pain, suffering, hardship and inconvenience you went through following your motor vehicle accident.

How to Value Non-Economic Damages: Traditional Methods

Let’s start by reviewing how the tools we learned about earlier – the settlement calculator and multiples approach – deal with this question.

Settlement calculator:  If you’ve ever found or used one of these, you know how terrible they are at answering this question.  It’s a fill in the blank.  It completely dodges the question, and allows you to write in any number you want.  That is not helpful, and highlights why settlement calculators are not helpful.

Multiples Approach:  Attorneys who use this approach will first tally up your economic damages.  If they “feel” like your case is weak for any number of reasons, they will multiply the economic damages by as little as 1.5.  If they feel your case is strong, they’ll multiply your economic damages by some other random number, typically up to 4 or 5.  For example, a weak case with $10,000 in economic damages is, using this approach, worth about $15,000 ($10,000 x 1.5).

Voila, isn’t being a lawyer easy?  Yes, if the lawyer isn’t willing to work hard to advocate for you.

How to Value Non-Economic Damages: The Problem

The truth is, litigation and aggressive claim resolution is all out war.  Somewhere in this fog of war, the value of your non-economic damages are hidden.

 

Put differently, a lawyer has two choices.  Choice (A) enter that battlefield, work through the smoke, fight for positioning, and discover the most accurate non-economic damages number that is out there, or Choice (B) pick an easily identifiable number for a cheap and fast resolution.

At this point, you understand why so many lawyers and law firms use settlement calculators and the multipliers approach.  The alternative requires a LOT of time, work, and skill.  Many lawyers will not make the proper investments in one or more of these categories to successfully utilize that alternative.

How to Value Non-Economic Damages: The Truth

At Injury Advocates Group, we roll up our sleeves and work to maximize your non-economic damages.  We use three key factors to calculate your economic damages.  They are:

♦   Historical car accident verdicts and settlements

♦   Intangibles

♦   Technique

We have a different page where we discuss using historical car accident verdicts and settlements to calculate your case worth.  To summarize, it is not an available option for a non-lawyer because (a) you will not know which fact from that case caused that specific result; (b) it is time prohibitive, you will spend hours reading legal case summaries; (c) the data is stored on subscription platforms with paid memberships, and (d) you will not know which database is reliable or complete.

The other two factors – intangibles and technique – should sound familiar.  They are the other 2 out of 4 variables that control your case worth.

What this means is that your non-economic damages are not limited by the pain and suffering that you feel.  Those damages are limited by another set of facts that are not often discussed.  This is because you, and many attorneys:

♦   Do not know what those factors are

♦   Do not know the significance of those factors or how to determine their significance

♦   Do not know how to use the factors to alter your non-economic damages recovery

Keep reading, because in the next sections we will shed light on amorphous topic of non-economic damages by discussing how intangibles will drive those damages up or down in your case.


The 4 Variables
Part 3:  Intangibles


oj simpson

Jurisdiction Matters

What are intangibles?

One of the most famous examples of intangibles arguably changing the outcome of a case is the OJ Simpson trial.  That trial was held in a Downtown Los Angeles courthouse instead of a courthouse that was closer to the scene of the crime – in Santa Monica.

There is great dispute about whether that would have changed the outcome of the case.  But why is there even a dispute, what is it factually based on?

It is based on the fact that the different courthouses recruit jurors from different areas.  Downtown jurors were more minority and of a lower socioeconomic class than the likely Santa Monica jurors.  Those who argue the Downtown jurors were more receptive to Mr. Simpson’s defense argue the jurisdiction changed the outcome of the verdict.

Whether they are right or wrong about the O.J. Simpson trial is irrelevant.  As a point of general strategy, any competent personal injury lawyer will agree those persons are 100% correct in that different jurisdictions have different jury pools and that different groups of jurors value personal injury cases differently.

How Does Jurisdiction Change How Much Your Case is Worth

It is unfortunate to say, but the coincidental location of your motor vehicle accident will alter the value of your case.

Put bluntly, if your auto collision – with the exact same economic damages, exact same injuries, and with the accident happening the exact same way – occurred in Los Angeles County versus, say, Orange County, your case is generally worth more.

Is this fair?  No.

Is this right? No.

Should this matter?  No.

But it does, and you need a lawyer who knows these differences so that she or he values your case appropriately and does not set you up for failure.

How Many Intangibles Are There?

For each type of personal injury matter, there are hundreds of intangibles.  By “type,” we mean categories such as birth injury, medical device, product liability, nursing home, and the many other categories of personal injury cases.

There are 2 important takeaways from this.

Focus Matters. 

The more work at attorney does in a particular area of law, the more likely that attorney is to unearth intangibles for maximizing case values for that type of personal injury.

If you hire an attorney who does workers’ compensation, medical malpractice, birth injury, product liability, and motor vehicle accidents, you are likely not hiring the best attorney for your vehicle accident case.  That combo-practice attorney has not dug as deep into the weeds of vehicle accident cases as compared to a more focused practice attorney.

The focused attorney with a narrower practice around vehicle accidents – like us at the Injury Advocates Group – will know more intangibles for YOUR case type, and will have more ammunition to maximize the value of your case.

Do Not Mistake Tenure with Experience.

Many attorneys have practiced law for a long time.  They often tout their years of experience as why they should be trusted and believed.  No doubt practicing law for a long time increases the likelihood of a lawyer being more experienced, assuming they used those years wisely.  As the saying goes, correlation is not synonymous with causation, and we think of this:

correlation is not causation

If you are searching for a motor vehicle accident attorney, spend some time talking to them.  No attorney will outline your case strategy and value for you before you hire them, but you can discuss auto accidents and your case generally.  If the attorney can’t dig into the weeds during that call and instead refers to all his or her past cases and experience, you’ve learned what you need to know.  Act accordingly, and take care to protect your claim.

Our Intangibles List

At Injury Advocates Group, our team made an intentional effort to compile a list of vehicle accident intangibles based on prior cases handled, researched, and discovered through a number of platforms.  We run through our internal list in every case with the specific intent of finding facts that will increase the value of your case.

Based on that case review, we find the highest reasonable point for how much your case is worth, and that’s where we aim.  You are not in the dark during this process.  Communication is key.  We explain the range of how much your case is worth, and work with you to find a path forward that balances your monetary recovery with your other case goals.  This is the Injury Advocates Group difference.


The 4 Variables
Part 4:  Technique


kobe bryant

Technique & Car Accident Settlement Advice

When we discuss technique, Kobe Bryant comes to mind.

There were many other basketball players with Kobe’s height, weight, and agility.

Kobe was different because of his work ethic.  That work ethic lead him to learn more about the game.  He understood the game, and played it, at an advanced level that was unmatched.

A great example of that is his “Detail” series, where he dissected a player and that player’s plays during a game.  What he showed was that the same player, with the same basketball, could achieve a better result by altering his technique.

The same applies to trial lawyers.  There are many advanced techniques that, if your lawyer knows them, and knows how to use them, can substantially improve the value of your case.

To put meat on this in the legal context, we will give a fairly well known example, below.

Technique: Pain & Suffering Damages Only

There is a well known advanced case technique amongst litigation lawyers.  In utilizing this technique, the lawyer will only make a claim for your non-economic damages, even if you have thousands of dollars in medical expenses.

Why?  Because sometimes, the number on your medical bill receipts or EOBs takes out of context what you’ve really been through.  It can trick the jury into incorrectly thinking your case is small because the bill totals are small.  The jury should not be tricked in this way.  To avoid that from happening, a lawyer may chose to only ask a jury to consider your pain and suffering, and not even discuss your medical bills.

Pain & Suffering Technique in Practice

One example of a good candidate for this technique is a non-displaced rib fracture injury from your chest hitting the steering wheel in a rear-end accident.

Putting aside uncommon exceptions, there is no medical care for this injury.  You just have to suffer through the pain and wait for the bone to heal.

That means large amounts of excruciating pain, but almost no medical treatment or medical bills.  This often means less than $10,000 in medical expenses for a case that could be worth more than $100,000.

In an appropriate case, and when done in a particular way, the jury, judge, or insurance adjuster’s focus can be positioned on facts aside from the medical bills, and which more truthfully and accurately represent what you are going through.

Recap on Techniques

 

Advanced settlement and litigation techniques come with the classic “do not try this at home” label.  If you are thinking of settling your own case by telling the adjuster, “forget my medical bills, just tell me how much my pain and suffering is worth,” you might as well try a motorcycle stunt-jump.

To be clear, we do not suggest to you try that motorcycle jump.  We also do not suggest you try to settle your case with any advanced legal techniques.

It is analogous to giving yourself a root canal.  It is a bad idea, despite how much money you might save by doing it yourself.

Have you been injured in a car accident?

Are you wondering, how much should my car accident settlement be?

Unlike this motorcycle jump, you only get ONE chance to get it right with your case.   Make that shot count.  Call the Injury Advocates Group now for a free legal phone consultation and let us help you.


The 4 Variables
Bringing it Together


This is stating the obvious, but sometimes that is necessary.  The 4 variables approach to finding out how much your auto accident claim is worth is the best, most comprehensive method available to answering the question of, how much is my case worth?  To recap:

All the great vehicle accident lawyers use this approach.  Period.

We will take credit for calling it the “4 Variables Approach.”  We have never heard anyone summarize everything you read in this Chapter as the 4 Variables Approach.  However, all great lawyers will recognize each of the 4 variables as we have explained them.  Those lawyers have the ability to discuss, and analyze, your case with a depth that is unmatched by run-of-the-mill auto accident attorneys.

If you were injured in a vehicle accident, we invite you to call the Injury Advocates Group.  We live, and breath, auto accidents.  You are welcome to read more about our firm  before you call.


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Chapter 3:

Sample Case Review to Demonstrate the 4 Variables


Case Study: Similar, but Not


Side by Side Case Comparison

The best way to see technique and intangibles in play is by comparing apparently similar cases.  Let’s look at two personal injury cases, starting with the finish line and working backwards from there:

case comparison 1

We see two verdicts, which already tells you the results are reliable in that they are not speculative settlements.  Settlements have a level of uncertainty because you don’t know whether the case was valued correctly.  You could have a lawyer that undervalues cases and settles them cheap, and you would not know that by looking at the settlement value alone.  There is more context you need to know to understand each result and make sense of it.

With more facts in the picture, we better understand how these cases are similar:

case comparison 2

Confusing, right?  Same injury.  Same treatment.  But over $3 million dollar difference in verdicts.  Why?  Let us review some of the intangibles to see if it explains the difference:

case comparison 3

Now you now better understand why it is impossible for a  non-lawyer to make sense of settlements and verdicts.  You cannot look at a particular result and understand how it helps shape how much your case is worth without knowing the context of the result.  That context is shaped by the intangibles.

With more facts, you will better understand why the two results are so different:

case comparison 4

Ahaa, now you understand the real picture.  Hidden behind the injuries, treatment, and economic damages, were emotional, intangible facts that pulled the verdicts in opposite directions.

You now understand how the intangibles drive the value of the case.  When a client asks, how much can I expect for pain and suffering?  We think and hear, “how many of the 100+ intangibles on our internal list is at play in this client’s case?”

Calculating Pain & Suffering is Not Math, it is an Art

It bears repeating, but this is why settlement calculators and using a multiple of your economic damages is worthless.  Look at Case 1 from the above example to understand why.  The economic damages in that case were about $50,000.  Using an aggressive multiple of 5x, a lazy lawyer would tell you that case is worth $250,000 on a good day.  The detail oriented lawyer that got the $3.5 million dollar verdict looked past the medical bill totals and took the time to understand what the case was really about.

We Are Artists, Not Mathematicians

This is the type of in-depth head-dive we do into our client’s cases at Injury Advocates Group.  We look for the facts that will drive up the value of your settlement, and use those to demand you get the largest settlement possible.  No shortcuts.  No settlement calculator. No multiple of your medical bills.  This is real lawyering, and we are on standby to bring this level of advocacy to bear in fighting for you.


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Chapter 4:   
How to Spot Attorneys Who Are Likely to Settle Your Case Cheap


411 on Settlement Attorneys


There are good and not so good doctors, accountants and lawyers.  What qualifies as good for one client may be bad for another.  If your goal is to get the largest settlement or recovery, you want to veer away from attorneys who are in the business of forcing clients to settle.  There are a few red-flags to look for in that process, which you will learn about here.

Settlement Calculator on Website

The easiest way to spot a potential settlement attorney is if they have a settlement calculator on their website.  Even if the settlement calculator comes with a disclaimer that says there is more to the case than what the calculator computes, be very careful.

Just ask yourself, if this lawyer really understands how to calculate the full value of how much my case is worth, why didn’t they explain that instead of putting a settlement calculator in their website?

Lawyer Discusses Using the Multiples Approach

In our view, this is an automatic run and run fast.  You will NEVER get an honest assessment of your case if a lawyer uses a multiple of your economic damages to calculate your pain and suffering.

Consider this example.

The construction worker’s pain and suffering will be greater, for the same injury, because of what that person does for 40+ hours every week to earn a living.  A multiples approach will not capture the full value of this loss.  Even if a higher multiplier is used, it will not help.  What if the medical bills are only $5,000.  An aggressive 5x multiple (which is on the higher end of multiples) would mean the case is only worth $25,000.  But this case could be worth $50,000 or more.

Our best advice is avoid lawyers who suggest they consider calculating how much your case is worth based on a multiples approach, or even using it as a foundation from which your case worth can be reverse-engineered.

Your Gut Feeling

When you are interviewing lawyers, you have to trust your gut.  Talk with the lawyer about how he or she values pain and suffering.  No lawyer will tell you how much they think your case is worth during that interview, or the checklist they use to determine your case worth.  But you do not need that information to understand how the lawyer values cases.

The following questions could help you get a sneak peak into the lawyer’s true motives:

♦   Why are you a plaintiff lawyer and not a defense lawyer?

♦   Have you ever been injured and what did you think your case was worth?

♦   How much about my personal life outside of this accident do you need to know?

Your lawyer needs to understand your life, and your losses, to understand the fair settlement amount for your case.

For example, we often ask clients for photos of them as baby’s and little kids.  No, it is not to show how cute and adorable you were as a kid to get sympathy from the insurance adjuster.  There is a different way to use these photos to help boost your case.

Only a lawyer that understand who you are and what you do will know how to use evidence like this to help your case.  Explore this with any attorneys you speak with, and trust your instincts in deciding whether they case about your result, or whether they care about settling your case.

How Are Settlement Figures Calculated?

This is another good question to ask any lawyer you speak with or interview.  If you ask them how settlement figures are calculated, and they refuse to tell you, do not tell you, or suggest use of a multiples approach or settlement calculator, you will have powerful information to help you make a good decision about that lawyer.

The Finish Line


We Are Here to Help


The real settlement amount of your case is not what you think it is.  That number is buried behind a series of facts.  Each of those facts is a needle in a haystack.  You need a lawyer who will take the time to comb through that haystack.  It is the only way you will make the insurance company pay you the full amount for what you are going through.

That is what you deserve.  You know it in your gut.  Trust that gut feeling when you speak with lawyers and are deciding whether to hire them to protect your interests.

If you are searching for a compassionate lawyer who understands how to dig deep and find the maximum amount that your case is worth, you owe it to yourself to call the Injury Advocates Group personal injury lawyers in Los Angeles.  We are available 24/7.  You can call day or night, or send us an e-mail at info@injuryag.com.  We are waiting to help you.

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About the Author

Article Author:  This law article was written by attorney Ray Benyamin, Esquire.  Mr. Benyamin received his Juris Doctor degree from the Thomas Jefferson School of Law, and his license to practice law from the State Bar of California.  His law license number is 277263.  He has been practicing law for 10 years.  Mr. Benyamin is a registered member of the following legal organizations: Consumer Attorneys Association of Los Angeles (CAALA), the Los Angeles County Bar Association (LACBA), the State Bar of California, the American Bar Association (ABA), and the American Association for Justice (AAJ).  Mr. Benyamin has personally helped his clients recover over $10,000,000 dollars in vehicle accident insurance claims in the State of California.

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