Rancho Mirage Car Accident Settlements
If you were in a car accident that led to damages, you are probably hoping for a settlement. A settlement is any type of agreement between the parties and usually involves the wrongdoer, or their insurance company, paying you for your damages.
Settlements can contain various clauses and conditions, such as confidentiality agreements or waivers of future claims, as long as those conditions do not violate the law. In fact, it is rare for a settlement to not require you to give up any future claims.
These conditions can place you in a precarious position, however. Predicting expenses with total accuracy is impossible, and you may fear, like many accident victims, that Rancho Mirage car accident settlements will not be sufficient to cover the actual costs involved.
Before agreeing to a settlement, you should consult with an experienced auto accident attorney at Walter Clark Legal Group. Using their experience with similar cases, your lawyer could provide a damage estimate, allowing you to determine whether a settlement offer is fair or even adequate.
What Damages Should a Settlement Include?
While many people in Rancho Mirage focus on recovering financial losses in a car crash settlement, settlements should consider at least two, and possibly three, types of damages.
Economic Damages
Economic damages compensate people for their financial losses or pay them for potential expenses. Some examples include:
- Medical bills
- Property damage
- Lost wages
- Loss of earning capacity
- Cost of special medical equipment and adaptations to the home
If a crash causes a catastrophic injury, such as a traumatic brain injury, spinal cord injury, or severe burn, the medical bills can be enormous. Ongoing expenses can also be complex for laypeople to assess. Legal teams work with medical personnel to help them estimate these expenses.
Non-Economic Damages
Non-economic damages compensate people for losses that have no direct financial cost and are more difficult to quantify. Emotional distress, pain and suffering, and loss of companionship are examples of these losses.
Punitive Damages
Depending on the circumstances of the wreck, a victim may be entitled to punitive damages. These damages are not compensation for losses. Rather, their purpose is to punish the wrongdoer. Even if the wrongdoer’s behavior was egregious, though, some car accident settlements might not contain punitive damages. In fact, many insurance policies specifically exclude coverage for punitive damages.
Wrongful Death Settlements
When a victim dies in a crash, their surviving loved ones may be able to pursue a wrongful death claim. California also allows survival actions, which the estate brings or continues on behalf of the victim.
Survival claims include most of the damages of regular personal injury claims. Wrongful death claims are for the damages to the survivors, which can include loss of companionship and loss of future income.
While wrongful death car accident settlement cases can be highly emotional, they may be easier to calculate than other types of settlements in Rancho Mirage. Generally, the family can calculate or estimate their financial losses more quickly than in cases of catastrophic injuries.
The Role of Liability in Settlement Offers
California is a pure comparative negligence state. As long as the other party has any of the blame for an accident, victims can recover damages. However, the amount of compensation reflects the wrongdoer’s share of the liability.
The first step is determining the total amount of damages. The next step is proving the other party was liable and assessing their share of the liability.
To determine liability, it is essential to examine the available evidence, which may include:
- Photos
- Witness statements
- Police reports
- Medical statements
- Expert testimony
Victims may assess damages on their own, but lawyers often have access to better resources. These resources may help them make more accurate calculations regarding appropriate settlement amounts for auto collisions in Rancho Mirage.
Talk to a Rancho Mirage Lawyer About Car Accident Settlements
Car wrecks can lead to devastating and expensive injuries. While settlements remove the uncertainty of trial and result in faster payouts, insurers often try to offer inadequate amounts. Before accepting an offer, schedule a consultation with a lawyer at Walter Clark Legal Group to learn more about Rancho Mirage car accident settlements.
