How Much to Expect from a Car Accident Settlement in California

Several Factors Determine the Value of Car Accident Cases in California

Your lawyer will need to consider several inputs as they calculate the cost of your car accident. Some of the factors your lawyer will evaluate as they compose their settlement demands include:

The Physical Injuries You Suffer During the Car Accident

Some injuries associated with car accidents are:

• Traumatic brain injuries (TBIs), affecting one of the most fragile and important areas of your body
• Broken bones
• Whiplash, which results from the rapid movement of the head and neck area
• Internal bleeding
• Eye and facial injuries
• Amputation injuries
• Burns

Each injury produces different symptoms, and those symptoms affect victims in different ways. This is why your lawyer will work with your doctors to understand the pain, symptoms, and possible secondary consequences resulting from your injuries.

Your Recovery Timeline (and Whether You Are Disabled)

The longer a car accident victim is injured or healing, the longer they may:

• Endure pain
• Suffer emotional distress and psychological anguish
• Be unable to exercise and engage in other physical activities that benefit their physical and psychological health
• Be unable to work and earn a regular income
• Live a diminished life, rather than a full one

When someone is disabled, they face immensely challenging realities that one can’t truly understand unless they are disabled. Attorneys understand these realities better than most, as they often represent clients with disabilities resulting directly from car accidents.

The Details of Your Career (and How the Collision Affects It)

Professional damages are a common result of car accidents. The cost of an accident victim’s professional losses can depend on:

• The time for which their professional disruptions affect them
• How much the victim earns
• The degree to which they can work after the accident (someone who is totally disabled will likely lose more than someone who has to reduce their working hours)
• Their career prospects, as someone who was on the cusp of earning a promotion might lose more than someone who just started a new job

Car accident lawyers get to know their clients well, including the details of their professional lives. This familiarity enables a lawyer to accurately calculate and document the client’s professional damages.

The Psychological and Emotional Hardship You Face Because of the Accident

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a debilitating reality for a significant percentage of car accident survivors. This is just one of many non-economic challenges that can qualify as pain and suffering—a type of damage that entitles survivors to compensation.

The nature, symptoms, and severity of your pain and suffering are some of the most important factors in the value of your car accident settlement.

The Car You Drive and the Extent of Damage to That Car

Property damage is always a consideration in car accident cases. The value of your vehicle and the extent of damage to that vehicle will be an important consideration as your lawyer calculates the value of your case.

Specific Damages That Your Car Accident Lawyer Will Include in Their Case Valuation

Nobody should have to pay for harm that results from someone else’s careless or reckless actions. Car accident survivors who are not at fault deserve fair compensation for all harm resulting from the collision, which often includes:

• Healthcare costs: Some of the most costly medical services following a car accident are ambulance transport, one or more nights in the hospital, medical imaging, and rehabilitation services. Your lawyer will include these and any other medical services in their settlement calculation.
• Pain and suffering: Auto accidents can be traumatic, especially when they happen at high speeds or in a particularly distressing manner—like a head-on accident the victim sees coming. Some pain and suffering you might experience after the accident include anxiety, depression, physical pain, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), sleep problems, scarring, and lost quality of life.
• Lost income and other professional harm: Recoverable professional damages can include lost income, diminished earning capacity, and lost benefits, among others.
• The cost of vehicle repairs: If your vehicle was involved in a car accident, you should receive compensation for repairs. If the vehicle was totaled, you should get compensation to replace the totaled car.
• Other property-related expenses: You may also deserve compensation for temporary transportation, the repair of damaged personal items, and the replacement of personal items that are beyond repair.

Your lawyer will complete a systematic review of your damages. They will talk with you, consult medical professionals, and investigate every type of harm liable parties have caused you. These are critical steps in fighting for your full and fair financial recovery.

Damages in Fatal Car Accident Cases

Cars are, in many cases, multi-thousand pound vehicles that can move well in excess of 100 mph. History shows that fatal accidents are inevitable, but these accidents typically occur because someone has exercised an egregious lapse in judgment.

When negligence causes a fatal accident, survivors must demand justice. A California wrongful death car accident lawyer often demands fair compensation for:

• Grief, depression, and other types of pain and suffering: Grief follows wrongful deaths. Survivors can also face depression, despair, anxiety, substance abuse issues, and a range of other types of pain and suffering. These are recoverable damages when the victims pursue a wrongful death case.
• Loss of consortium: This refers to non-economic losses resulting from a wrongful death. In California, loss of consortium generally refers to the loss of a spouse’s intimacy, affection, comfort, and companionship.
• Lost financial support: Those who lose their lives in fatal car accidents are often providers. Survivors may seek compensation for the loss of the decedent’s income, employer-supplied benefits (like health coverage), household services, and other forms of financial support.
• Funeral expenses: You may sue liable parties to cover the decedent’s funeral, which may cost several thousand dollars. 

Your car accident attorney will investigate and document your damages without interrupting your recovery process. This respect for your privacy is one of the many benefits of hiring an effective, client-conscious lawyer.