There is no average settlement value of pedestrian accidents. Still, personal injury lawyers know what factors can determine the value of such an accident.
Factors determining the accident’s value
• Severity of injuries
• Extent of treatment
• Size of medical expenses
• Amount of work time missed by recovering victim
• Extent of pain and suffering
How Insurance Companies Calculate the Accident’s Value?
An insurance company can assign a known number to all of the above factors, except for one. There is no way to measure the amount of pain and suffering that any accident victim, including one that was walking, might have experienced. Still, most insurance companies use a formula that allows them to link a calculated figure to the level of a claimant’s pain and suffering.
What is that formula? It relies on completion of two types of calculations. First, the adjuster adds up the total from each of the claimant’s medical bills. Then that total becomes one of 2 factors that get entered in a multiplication operation. The other factor is a number that is referred to as a multiplier.
How does the adjuster determine the size of the multiplier? Most of the multipliers used in the insurance company formulas are a number between 1.5 and 5. The more severe a pedestrian’s injuries from an accident, the closer the chosen multiplier gets to 5. Whenever pedestrians have suffered catastrophic injuries, the number of the multiplier could be 6 or more.
After multiplication of the sum for the totals on the medical bills and the chosen multiplier, the resulting product represents part of the value for the pedestrian accident. However, it could be that the injured walker had to take time off from work, in order to recover. In that case, the adjuster would need to add the value for the number of work hours that the walker/claimant missed.
Once an adjuster has added the calculated amount to the value for the work hours, the adjuster’s task has been simplified. He or she then has a number that could be used as the initial bid, at the start of negotiations. Still, most adjusters consult with their supervisors, before actually selecting that initial bid.
What might an adjuster learn from a supervisor?
The adjuster’s supervisor should know whether or not the claimant has retained a lawyer. Insurance companies usually make a lower initial offer/bid to any claimants that have not retained a personal injury lawyer in Milton.
The adjuster’s supervisor might also know something about the source of the claimant’s treatment. Whenever injured claimants seek treatment from a chiropractor, instead of a medical doctor, insurance companies offer a smaller amount of money, as compensation for any injury. That method gets used for many accidents, including pedestrian accidents.