Your economic damages are easy to calculate, as you’ll simply add them together.
There’s nothing wrong with asking how much money you stand to receive from a Kentucky accident lawsuit. After all, you need to plan effectively for your future and create a budget. Your financial situation may be incredibly unclear at the moment, especially if your injuries have prevented you from working. You might also be dealing with considerable medical expenses that seem impossible to pay thanks to your lack of employment. Calculating a possible settlement amount is important in this scenario, and you are right to wonder how much money you stand to receive.
Each accident lawsuit is slightly different, and it’s best to get in touch with a qualified, experienced attorney if you want to get a ballpark figure of your potential settlement amount. These legal professionals can listen carefully to your unique situation during an initial consultation and provide you with a general idea of how much your settlement might be worth. At this point, your lawyer can guide you forwards, help you gather evidence, negotiate on your behalf, and even represent you in court if necessary.
Understanding How Damages Work
First of all, you need to understand that your settlement is a direct reflection of your damages. So what exactly are damages? These are losses that you have suffered as a result of your accident, and they may be economic or non-economic in nature. Economic damages are easy to calculate and quantify, as they represent losses in dollar amounts. For example, your medical bills are economic damages, and your settlement can provide reimbursement for these expenses. Missed wages also constitute economic damages, and your settlement will likely compensate you for these losses. Any out-of-pocket expense directly caused by your accident is considered an economic damage.
Non-economic damages are things like PTSD, anxiety, humiliation, shame, disfigurement, loss of consortium, loss of purpose of life, pain and suffering, mental distress, and so on. In other words, these are all of the mental or emotional consequences of your accident that cannot be easily quantified or calculated.
How Your Settlement Will be Calculated
Your economic damages are easy to calculate, as you’ll simply add them together. However, your non-economic damages can be slightly more difficult to calculate because of their abstract nature. In most cases, you will be given a general damages multiplier that represents your non-economic damages. This number (usually on a scale of 1 to 10) will be multiplied by your total economic damages, leaving you with your settlement amount. For example, if your non-economic damages are $200,000 and your general damages multiplier is two, you would be left with $400,000.
Enlist the Help of a Qualified Attorney Today
If you’ve been searching the Louisville area for a qualified, experienced accident attorney, rest assured that there are many legal professionals available. Although facing a lawsuit can seem quite daunting, you should remember that you’re not alone in this battle. Get an attorney on your side, and you can start approaching this situation in an effective, confident manner. Book your consultation today.
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