You have undoubtedly noticed that compensation packages in personal injury cases vary considerably. Some people may receive six-figure settlements and more, while others receive much less. Each case is unique, and factors such as liability, the severity of injuries, and an individual’s potential earnings all play a part in determining the total compensation package.
With so many factors affecting compensation, determining fair compensation is both a science and an art. If you rely on an insurance company to calculate your compensation package, you may not receive the compensation you need to rebuild your life. Having a tenacious personal injury attorney calculating and fighting for the money you deserve gives you a better chance of success.
This article will take a deep dive into the types of compensation you could be entitled to as an Arkansas accident victim. We will also explore important factors that could affect your compensation and discuss the tools insurers and lawyers use to calculate compensation so you can fight for the money you deserve.
Types of Compensation in Personal Injury Claims
In personal injury claims, compensation is broken down into economic and non-economic categories. Economic compensation pays you back for the actual expenses you incurred due to the accident. Non-economic compensation covers intangible losses, such as mental anguish or physical pain.
Economic compensation
There are three main considerations for economic compensation:
- Medical expenses: This may include medical bills already paid, outstanding bills, medical liens, and future medical expenses resulting from your injury. As well as doctor appointments and hospital treatments, your expenses could also include physical and occupational therapy or long-term caretaker support if your injuries leave you permanently disabled.
- Lost wages: This could include lost pay since you were injured. If your injuries are serious and affect your ability to do the work you did before, you may be entitled to additional compensation.
- Property damage: If your vehicle or any other property was damaged as a direct result of the accident, you may be able to claim the cost of repairing or replacing it.
Non-economic compensation
Depending on the nature of your injuries and their long-term impact, some or all of the following may be applicable:
- Pain and suffering: This broad heading covers both physical and emotional pain suffered after an injury
- Loss of quality of life: If the aftereffects of your injuries, such as disabilities or disfigurement, mean that you cannot enjoy life as you used to, you may be entitled to compensation for loss of quality of life
- Loss of consortium: This is more common in wrongful death than personal injury claims, typically referring to losing a spouse’s love, physical intimacy, and emotional support.
Punitive damages
Arkansas law allows plaintiffs in civil lawsuits to pursue punitive damages. They are generally awarded when gross negligence has been exhibited and serve as an additional punishment and warning to others. However, one or both of the following conditions must be satisfied to receive punitive damages in Arkansas.
You must prove that the defendant should have known his or her actions would probably result in injury or damage but continued regardless, or he or she intentionally set out to cause harm.
It is important to note that punitive damages are only a consideration in Arkansas personal injury lawsuits. These damages are generally awarded by a judge or jury. So, if you negotiate a compensation package out of court, you cannot claim punitive damages.
Factors Affecting Your Compensation
Several crucial factors need to be considered when calculating your final compensation. It is very important to calculate the economic impact accurately, as this figure is often used to calculate your non-economic damages.
Seriousness and long-term impact of your injury
In general, the more serious your injury, the more compensation you will be entitled to receive. When calculating compensation, medical expenses are one of the first considerations.
The more extensive or severe your injuries are, the greater your expenses will be for:
- Hospital treatment
- Surgeries
- Rehabilitation
- Medication
- Physical therapy
- Diagnostics
If your injuries cause long-term disabilities, you may also need long-term caretaker support and adaptations to your home. When catastrophic injuries are involved, personal injury attorneys may hire medical expert witnesses and financial experts. Medical professionals can testify to the level of care you will need for the remainder of your life, and financial experts can put a dollar figure on this.
When your ability to work is affected
Catastrophic injuries may mean that it is no longer possible for you to work and provide for yourself and your family. Or your injuries may mean that you can no longer physically perform the job you did before your accident. Therefore, your compensation needs to consider your future lost earnings or loss of earning potential.
To calculate this, a personal injury lawyer may do the following:
- Work with a financial expert: Personal injury attorneys know a lot about the law but are not financial experts. Therefore, in complex cases, they may hire a financial expert witness. He or she can sift through the relevant data to estimate your loss of earnings and earning potential based on reliable evidence.
- Analyze past earnings: A financial expert can examine your base salary, benefits, bonuses, and any other factors in your compensation package. He or she will use this data to calculate your base earnings, which will be the basis for the next set of calculations.
- Predict future earnings and benefits: Based on your past earnings, benefits, promotion history, and economic trends, the financial expert can estimate what your future earnings and benefits would likely have been had you not gotten injured.
- Ascertain the loss period: This is the period the plaintiff is expected to be out of work due to the injury. In some cases, this may be relatively short. On the other hand, if you cannot return to work at all, this could extend over the remainder of your expected working life.
Putting a dollar figure on lost earnings is more complex than it may first appear. If you trust an insurance company to do this for you, they are unlikely to analyze your finances to the level needed to calculate fair compensation. Instead, look to an Arkansas personal injury lawyer for the due diligence of achieving what you truly deserve.
Liability
Arkansas follows a legal doctrine known as modified comparative fault. In practical terms, if your liability for the accident that caused your injuries is 50 percent or more, you cannot pursue compensation. However, if you were 49 percent or less liable, you can seek compensation from the other party or parties.
However, when the insurance company and your personal injury lawyer calculate your total compensation package, they will take into account your level of liability. Suppose the total compensation awarded to someone 0 percent at fault would have been $100,000. If you were 30 percent liable, your compensation would be reduced by 30 percent. So, you would only receive $70,000.
If you suspect that you were partially responsible for the accident that caused your injuries, don’t hold back from seeking legal advice. Insurance adjusters can be ruthless in trying to exaggerate the liability of other parties to reduce the compensation they have to pay out. They may even use the statements you make to them against you.
So don’t be tempted to handle the insurance bullies on your own. Instead, hire an experienced attorney to fight for fair compensation, even if you may be partly liable.
Insurance coverage
Policy limits are another challenge that could impact the compensation you can recover. For example, if you get into a car accident and the responsible party only has $50,000 of coverage, but your losses total $100,000, you may feel you have hit a dead end. However, you may still have a few options.
You could collect compensation directly from the responsible party. Yet, this may be difficult if they don’t have the resources to pay. Another option is to check whether the defendant has an umbrella policy that provides additional coverage beyond the limits of his or her auto insurance.
Finally, your personal injury attorney may need to hunt for additional defendants. If more than one person is liable, your attorney can seek compensation from all parties to ensure you recover what you deserve.
Limits on workers’ compensation coverage claims
In Arkansas, 27,800 injuries or illnesses occurred in the workplace in 2022. Workers’ compensation insurance will cover reasonably necessary medical care if you get injured or sick because of your job. It can also replace part of your lost wages. However, it does not allow you to claim non-economic compensation, like pain and suffering.
If you have been injured at work, it is still important to talk to an experienced Arknasas personal injury attorney. He or she can help you determine whether any other legal avenues for pursuing this potentially important compensation are open to you.
Statute of limitations
Time is another limiting factor when claiming compensation. In Arkansas, most personal injury cases must be filed within 3 years of the accident date. However, the sooner you start the claim, the easier it may be to build a strong case for compensation. So don’t delay in seeking legal advice.
Tools Used to Calculate Non-Economic Compensation
Economic compensation deals with concrete figures or financial projections. However, there is no set formula for calculating non-economic compensation. The two most commonly used methods to calculate a final compensation package are the per diem method and the multiplier method.
The per diem method puts a dollar amount on each day you suffered due to an injury. This is typically used for temporary injuries that don’t cause long-term disabilities. For example, if the dollar amount is $10, and your suffering lasts 120 days, your non-economic compensation would total $1,200.
The multiplier method is used in more serious cases that cause long-term suffering. This method works by multiplying the economic damages by a figure between 1.5 and 5. The more serious your injuries, the higher the multiplier will be.
It takes a lot of tenacious negotiation to agree on a multiplier that is acceptable to both sides. Make sure you choose an experienced personal injury attorney who is ready to play hardball and who knows every trick in the insurance adjuster’s book.
Minton Law Firm Brings Something Extra to the Table
Calculating potential compensation after an accident takes legal and financial expertise. The outcome of your claim could impact your financial stability for the rest of your life, so you need a personal injury lawyer with a track record of success. Even better, the support of a law firm led by someone who used to work for the opposition.
As a former insurance adjuster, Justin Minton knows all the tactics the other side will use in an attempt to reduce your compensation. He and his team know how to build strong cases to give you the best chance of overcoming everything insurance companies can throw at you. Minton Law Firm has negotiated personal injury settlements as high as $1.8 million, and we want to maximize your compensation too.
At your free consultation with us, a Minton Law Firm attorney will listen to your case and discuss your chances of success. Based on previous results, he or she may even be able to give you an estimated settlement figure.
If you are ready for that conversation, call 855-Xadjuster or fill out our contact form today. We proudly serve the following areas: Little Rock – Pulaski County – Arkansas, Benton – Saline County – Arkansas, and Conway – Faulkner County – Arkansas.
