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You may have recently been in a tragic car or truck rear-end accident where the pain of the crash never seems to end. Even if a company towed your vehicle to the nearest auto body shop for property-damage repairs and ambulance drivers rushed you to the nearest hospital for emergency surgery, you still haven’t received a settlement. There may have been the wrongful death of a loved one involved in the accident. As long as there is a conflict regarding settlement costs between you and the at-fault driver, the rear-end collision trauma continues to haunt you.
At Strickland Law Group, we understand your pain and suffering and have worked with hundreds of clients in similar auto accidents awaiting settlement. Our team has become experts at calculating rear-end settlement amounts through countless courtroom experiences across a wide range of auto accident cases. We explain how to calculate the average settlement for rear-end car and truck accidents, and we provide real-life examples of clients who won settlements and exited the legal process.
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Although you can’t determine exact numbers for rear-end car accident settlements without an insurance adjuster’s offer, you can assess economic damages and other factors to estimate whether your settlement will be higher or lower.
The first damage category judges and insurance adjusters evaluate to determine an auto accident settlement amount is vehicle damage. Rear-end collisions vary in severity based on the speed and size of both vehicles involved, which can lead to different compensation offers. These damages can include exterior damage, such as the bumper and windshield, and interior damage to the frame and electrical system.
Always hire a car service shop or official dealership to professionally inspect all vehicle damage so you can get the settlement you deserve. Also, send photographs of the scene to support your review and speed up the settlement process. You can estimate a general rear-end auto accident settlement amount by multiplying the total damage costs by 1.5 to 4.
Medical expenses are the next damage type judges and insurers consider, based on doctors’ and surgeons’ professional assessments. Injury costs are multifaceted and depend on factors like lost wages, current and ongoing medical expenses, and the specific injuries.
Brain injury settlement amounts for rear-end car accidents, for example, range from $10,000 to $100,000, while herniated discs average $65,000, depending on the collision details. Whiplash is the most common injury in rear-end collisions, so you may have experienced it in your crash.
In addition, medical bills go beyond injuries and lost income and include appointments, procedures, and treatments that aren’t immediately apparent. Doctors will force you into these medical treatments to receive a complete recovery, but hidden fees you were unaware of will add up and catch up several months later. They are, but are not limited to:
The last category judges and insurance adjusters take into consideration when calculating your rear-end car accident settlement amount is mental and emotional distress. Although abstract, these groups lack quantifiable variables; you can justify a higher settlement amount based on the suffering you personally experienced in a collision. Specific indicators of mental/emotional stress in our client’s car and truck accident crashes are:
These unique rear-end damages can earn up to 5 times more in courtrooms than medical and vehicle damage, making mental/emotional distress a strong legal basis for a settlement. While this category can be harder to value, an experienced car or truck accident lawyer can help you determine what payment amounts you qualify for based on your auto accident details.
Vehicle damages, medical expenses, and mental/emotional distress are crucial case elements that judges and insurance adjusters record and study to determine an average settlement amount for your rear-end car accident. However, other case factors beyond the collision itself carry equal weight in determining a settlement.
In cases with multiple defendants, insurance companies calculate different settlement amounts, each competing against the others, and judges must decide between them in the courtroom. Demographic information such as your age, occupation, driving history, and medical history is also significant during the settlement calculation process. Finally, your compensation amount depends on which court you appear in and the county where that building is located, since each has its own judge.
When calculating your average rear-end settlement amount, you need to know whether the at-fault driver was driving a car or a truck. You can tell whether your settlement will be higher or lower based on the opposing party’s vehicle type, since rear-end truck collisions are more dangerous. In 2019, large truck accidents caused 11% of all motor accidents, proving they are a real threat.
When their denser auto body and massive size ram into the back of your vehicle, it will cause more significant levels of critical injuries that spike medical expenses. They can inflict more damage to your car and often leave it unrepairable.
For instance, a liquid nitrogen-transporting tractor-trailer in California in 2020 slammed into an innocent victim’s car, resulting in a tragic rear-end accident. He dealt with an intense herniated disc at the L5-S1 level that shot radicular pain through his legs and earned him a total of $3.5 million. Similarly, an inattentive truck driver collided into the back of a Michigan finance pair’s automobile in 2015, and both parties agreed to a $1,365,000 settlement amount.
To close your rear-end collision case and move forward after the physical and emotional toll you experienced, the judge, insurance adjusters, and jury must agree on your settlement amount. They have to seriously consider vehicle damages, medical expenses, and mental/emotional distress in addition to other factors such as the types of vehicles involved. If you handle it yourself, legal proceedings and courtroom hearings will take longer, and an experienced auto wreck lawyer can shorten that time.
We empathize with your exhaustion from the auto accident tragedy and wish to help you obtain a settlement amount and end the case once and for all. Our experienced car and truck lawyers are personal and will maintain a close attorney-client relationship through future legal processes, delivering results instead of delays.
To learn more about average settlements for rear-end car accidents and how to file a lawsuit with our auto accident attorneys, call our office at (334) 269-3230. We can schedule a free consultation to review your rear-end collision and help you settle your case.
