BlogSuppose you were injured in a car accident caused by someone else’s negligence. In that case, it’s understandable that you want to know the typical car accident settlement amounts for California claims. However, there is no specific car accident settlement amount we can share with you.
Every car accident is different and will resolve for a different settlement amount. Even in cases with similar facts, no two settlements are identical. Speak with a Los Angeles car accident attorney at Joseph Farzam Law Firm to learn more about your individual case value.
Determining Your Damages in a California Car Accident
Your damages have a significant impact on what your potential settlement might be. Your claim consists of economic and non-economic damages. Economic damages are those that you can calculate. There is a financial loss associated with these types of damages. Examples of economic damages include:
- Medical expenses,
- Lost wages, and
- Property damage.
Non-economic damages are harder to quantify. While some insurance companies determine the extent of non-economic damages by multiplying economic damages, there is no specific car accident settlement calculator. Non-economic damages are more subjective than economic ones. Examples of non-economic damages include:
- Physical pain and suffering;
- Emotional distress;
- Loss of consortium; and
- Loss of enjoyment of life.
Non-economic damages often make up the most considerable portion of California’s typical car accident settlement, especially in cases involving severe injuries.
How Liability Impacts Your Settlement Amount
Liability is one of the other major factors that can impact your overall settlement amount. California is a pure comparative negligence state. That means even if you are partially at fault for the accident, you can still collect a portion of your damages. However, your overall settlement amount is reduced by your percentage of liability.
For example, if a jury finds you 25% at fault, you could collect 75% of your overall damages. If the jury places 75% fault on you, you would be entitled to collect 25% of your damages. Remember, comparative negligence works both ways. If you collect 75% of your damages, it means the defendant can get 25% of their damages from your insurance company.
Liability disputes can impact how long it takes to resolve your case as well. Because California is a pure comparative state, the defendant’s insurance company will work tirelessly to assign as much blame on you as possible. The more liability they can place on you, the less exposure they have.
No matter how friendly or helpful the defendant’s insurance company tries to get you to believe they are, they are not on your side. Instead, they are looking for any statements or pieces of evidence they can use against you. That is one reason why retaining an experienced California car accident attorney is so crucial.
How Long Does an Auto Accident Settlement Take?
The timeframe for resolving a car accident case will vary. While many cases settle out of court, some car accident cases do end up going to trial. The same factors that affect your case value can affect the amount of time it takes to resolve your claim.
Disputed liability and disagreements over the severity of your injuries or the amount of treatment are some of the variables that can affect how long it takes to resolve your case. Available insurance limits can also impact your claim.
If you have severe injuries and the at-fault party has low liability insurance limits, their insurance company may pay out the claim relatively fast. For example, consider a plaintiff with $300,000 in medical expenses and the defendant’s insurance liability limits are only $25,000/$50,000 for bodily injury. Even if the plaintiff were mostly at fault for the accident, the defendant’s insurance limits would be exhausted. Therefore, they may settle the claim early on since there is no benefit to keeping the file open.
Statute of Limitations
When filing a personal injury claim, it’s essential to understand that you must adhere to legal deadlines in all cases. Like other states, California has a statute of limitations on personal injury cases. This date is the deadline you have to file a lawsuit with the proper court in California. For injury auto accidents, you have two years from the date of the accident to file a lawsuit. Property damage only claims have a three-year statute of limitations.
Two years may seem like a long time to bring a lawsuit, but it’s not. If your injuries are severe, you may still be undergoing treatment over a year after the accident. If you inadvertently miss the deadline, the court will likely throw your case out, and all chances of recovery are lost. Even if you were in the middle of negotiations with the defendant’s insurance company, they are under no obligation to pay you anything after the statute of limitations has run.
Why risk your entire claim by handling it independently? Instead, hire a skilled California car accident firm like Farzam Law Firm. When you retain us to handle your personal injury claim, we will handle all the tedious legal tasks, including filing a lawsuit within the statute of limitations. Your primary goal should be to concentrate on your recovery and get your life back on track.
Choosing Farzam Law Firm for Your California Car Accident Claim
You have thousands of law firms and attorneys to choose from, so you may be wondering what sets us apart. We believe in putting all clients first. You are more than a case number or file on a desk. When you work with some law firms, you won’t get the personalized service you will get when you hire Farzam Law Firm.
We have a successful track record of recovering compensation for our clients. To date, we’ve recovered millions of dollars in countless personal injury claims, including car accident cases. To learn more about how we can help you fight for the financial compensation you deserve, contact Farzam Law Firm.
Schedule a free, no-obligation consultation with one of our skilled Los Angeles car accident lawyers. We will sit down with you, review your case, and tell you what we believe your case is worth and how best to proceed.
Joseph Farzam
Mr. Farzam attended Santa Monica high school and worked at McDonald’s and local coffee shops to support himself. Although he worked 2 or 3 jobs, he valued education greatly and earned a bachelor’s degree from California State University, Northridge in biology, and attended the prestigious Pepperdine University School of Law. He graduated with high marks and passed the California bar exam on the first try. Mr. Farzam has received the coveted titles of Super Lawyer, Los Angeles Magazine’s Top Lawyers, and has received The Litigator Awards. He is a proud member of the Consumer Attorneys Association of Los Angeles (CAALA) and California Employment Lawyers Association (CELA).
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