You’re eligible for compensation for your losses when you get into a car accident caused by another driver’s negligence. In South Carolina, the driver who caused your accident is responsible for paying your damages. This includes material losses, like medical bills and fixing your car, and intangible losses, like pain and suffering.
The other driver’s insurance company may offer you a settlement, but how do they arrive at that number? What the insurance company thinks your claim is worth and what your Greenville car accident lawyer thinks is a fair settlement are often widely different. Our attorneys properly value your claim and often can negotiate a better settlement than you could on your own.
Let’s take a more detailed look at how to calculate car accident compensation for plaintiffs.
South Carolina laws governing car accident compensation
South Carolina follows a modified comparative negligence rule for car accident compensation; if you contributed less than 50% of the blame for the wreck, you may file a claim against the at-fault driver.
You may claim compensation for your economic damages, including:
- Medical care
- Property damages
- Lost wages
And non-economic damages:
- Pain and suffering emotional trauma
- Diminished quality of life
Economic and non-economic damages are calculated differently; an experienced car accident lawyer can properly calculate the full extent of each.
Calculating economic damages in South Carolina car accidents
Economic damages, also referred to as material losses, are the out-of-pocket expenses you incurred because of the car wreck.
- Medical care: You may claim all necessary curative care to treat your injuries and any complications. This includes surgery, a hospital or nursing home stay, prescription medications, and durable medical devices (crutches, wheelchairs, etc.). You may also claim any future medical care that will be required as a result of your injuries.
- Lost earnings: If you missed work because you were hurt too badly to go, you may claim full replenishment of your missed wages, even if you used sick time or PTO
- Loss of earning potential: Some people may suffer permanent injury and no longer be able to continue in the job they had before the wreck. You may claim the difference in earning potential between what you would have made and what you’re now capable of making
- Property damage: This includes repairing or replacing your vehicle, plus covering items in the vehicle and on you that were damaged (phone, clothes, jewelry, and other property)
Calculating the value of your material losses is fairly simple: Your lawyer adds up your bills. For the loss of earning potential, we usually work with a vocational or economic professional who considers the length of time you would have worked in a higher-paying career, accounting for any promotions or raises, pensions or retirement contributions, and inflation.
Calculating non-economic compensation in Greenville car accident claims
Our attorneys look to prior similar cases to value your claim. Additionally, our attorneys may use formulas to calculate non-economic damages such as:
- Per diem method: We assign a daily value for your pain, suffering, and trauma, then multiply that by the number of days that you suffered
- Multiplier method: We multiply the full amount of your economic damages by a factor of one to five (five is the most serious, usually reserved for people who will not recover and suffered permanent disability)
Our attorneys work with economic professionals to accurately value your claim. Their testimony, plus our decades of experience valuing car accident claims help us determine a fair amount for your non-economic losses.
Do you need help getting full compensation after a car accident?
If you’ve been in a car accident you didn’t cause, you have the right to compensation for all your losses, material and intangible. The attorneys at Smith Jordan Law can represent you in negotiations with the other driver’s insurance company to ensure you’re compensated fairly. Contact us at (864) 343-2222 for a free consultation.
