Being involved in a car accident can be an unnerving experience at best, and a totally life-changing one at worst. For those who have been in a car accident, the claims process is often dreaded – no one looks forward to a back-and-forth with an insurance adjuster. However, there is a light at the end of the tunnel: a settlement offer. Before you start the claims process, though, you likely have questions about car accident settlement amounts averages in Nevada.
What’s the Average Settlement Amount?
The first thing that many prospective clients ask us is what the average settlement amount in Nevada is. While we’d love to throw out a number that is both accurate and applicable to a person’s unique situation and case, it doesn’t always work like this. Instead, rather than providing a client with an overall average, we prefer to look at each claim on a case-by-case basis, and then provide a client with an informed, educated opinion about how much they may be able to recover. This is because there are numerous factors that influence a settlement amount and because each case is unique.
What Factors Influence a Settlement Amount?
Because of the numerous factors that can influence the outcome of a settlement, it is impossible to say how much a case is worth without doing at least a cursory investigation and assessment, if not a much more thorough one. Even then, there are things that can happen throughout the process that could impact the settlement. That being said, here are some common factors that influence the value of a claim and how much a claimant may be offered by an insurance company:
- Value of economic damages. One of the things that will have the largest impact on a settlement is the value of economic losses–that is, actual financial losses–that the claimant has experienced or expects to experience in the future. High medical bills, large property damage costs, and a large number of lost wages will all drive up the overall value of economic damages sustained. In turn, this may increase the amount of compensation that’s offered.
- The extent of noneconomic damages. It’s not just economic damages that are valued in a car accident claim, but noneconomic damages, too. Noneconomic damages include things like pain, suffering, emotional distress, and a diminished quality of life. Typically, more serious physical injuries will result in a greater value of non-economic damages. The value of noneconomic damages can also vary based on things like age, parental status, and activity level.
- The fault of each party. Fault can play a big role in the number of damages that a claimant is able to recover, especially because Nevada is a comparative fault state. This means that while you won’t be completely barred from recovery if you contributed to your accident and injuries, your settlement can be reduced in proportion to your degree of fault.
- Insurance coverage in place. One of the biggest things that will affect how much you can recover is that of how much insurance coverage even exists to pay out your claim. Sadly, even if your injuries are significant and you deserve a million dollars or more, if there isn’t enough insurance coverage in place, there may be no source from which to receive this amount of money.
- What else? In addition to the above, things like admitting fault, posting conflicting images or text on social media, failing to provide notice to the insurer within a certain amount of time, a lack of evidence to support your case, and more can all affect your settlement.
What You Can Do to Improve the Outcome of Your Claim
While you may not be able to change things like how much insurance coverage is in place or what degree of fault you contributed, there are some meaningful things that you can do to improve the outcome of your claim. These include:
- Seeking medical care immediately;
- Gathering any evidence that you can at the scene of the accident;
- Reporting your accident to the insurance company and to the police within 24 hours;
- Refraining from talking about or posting about your accident, especially on social media;
- Hiring experts to investigate your claim and evaluate your damages; and
- Hiring an experienced car accident attorney as soon as possible.
What Our Nevada Car Accident Lawyers Will Do for You
Working with an experienced attorney could be a huge help to your case, and could ultimately make the difference between a positive case outcome and a negative one. However, you don’t just want any attorney working on your case – you want an attorney who you can trust to put you first.
At the law offices of Henness & Haight, we handle 100 percent of your car accident claims process, including a thorough investigation, the hiring of experts, and the negotiations process. We also have trial experience and can talk about filing a lawsuit if it comes to that.
We also will never apply a blanket “car accident settlement amounts average” to your case; instead, we will approach your case on a personalized basis, creating a strategy that’s specific to you. Our method is never cookie-cutter, and we know that not all accidents, and not all clients, are alike. We will provide you with the unique, personalized attention you deserve.
Call Henness & Haight for a Free Consultation Today
To learn more about working with our experienced Nevada car accident attorneys, or to ask questions about the car accident settlement amount average that we’ve seen over the years, please call us today or send us a message. We work on a contingency fee basis and always offer free case consultations. Our consultations are confidential, and we will always provide you with honest answers.
Reach out to us today to learn more about what your case may be worth and steps that you should be taking now to recover the settlement that you deserve.