Q: When calculating a personal injury settlement, are property damages incurred in an accident separated?
What I mean by this, is when using a calculator such as this one http://www.alllaw.com/articles/nolo/personal-injury/calculator.html
where we assume that medical bills are equal to 3500, property damage is equal to 5000, and lost wages are equal to 60, which we then multiply by 3 as the general damages multiplier, would the 22,060 be a standalone figure, or would that 3,500 that is paid separately as part of the collision coverage (the car was totaled, and that is the value the insurance company quoted the car at) be subtracted from that 22,060 figure?
Also, as a secondary question, would the 3500 for medical expenses be subtracted from that 22,060, or will the insurance company pay those separately being as the medical institutions at which I was treated were made aware of the insurance claim #?
Edit: This would be a UM/UIM claim being as the at-fault motorist was uninsured. My insurer is Geico.
A:
Forget the formula. That's bogus. If you lost an eye would 3 x the medicals be enough? No way. If you had one ER but went in as trauma and the bill was 19,000 and no follow up after, do you think they'd pay 3x19?
If your crash is serious enough to consider uninsured, you should reconsider the d.i.y. bit. Contact a member of the State of Washington Assn for Justice--they give free consults.
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