On Behalf of Buckley Law Offices, P.C.
Quick Summary
No honest attorney will give you a number before reviewing your case. But you can know what's in the calculation, and whether you're being low-balled before you ever sign anything. Car accident cases in New Hampshire are valued on your actual losses: medical bills past and future, income you've lost, and the physical pain you've endured.
What Actually Goes Into The Value Of Your Case
Damages in a New Hampshire car accident case fall into two categories: economic and non-economic.
Economic damages are the numbers you can add up. Every hospital bill, every ER visit, every physical therapy session, every medication. Every day of work you missed. If your injuries affect your ability to earn the same income from here, if you had to take a lower-paying job, or can't work at all, that future earning loss is part of your claim too.
Non-economic damages are harder to quantify but just as real. Pain and suffering. The fact that you can't pick up your kids the way you used to. The anxiety you feel driving past the intersection where it happened. Sleep you've lost. Hobbies you've given up. New Hampshire law allows recovery for all of it.
The Multiplier Method And Why Insurers Misuse It
Insurers frequently value pain and suffering using a multiplier, they take your total medical bills and multiply by a number, in most situations between 1.5 and 3. A serious injury might justify a multiplier of 4 or 5. Catastrophic or permanent injuries go higher.
The problem: insurers choose the multiplier. And they consistently choose the low end. They also argue your medical bills were inflated, unnecessary, or that you should have treated less. They'll claim your MRI wasn't needed. They'll say your chiropractor visits were excessive.
An attorney reviews your case with the right multiplier based on actual severity, not the one that saves the insurer money.
What Reduces The Value Of A Claim In New Hampshire
New Hampshire's modified comparative fault rule is the most important factor most accident victims don't know about. If you're found 50% or more at fault, you recover nothing. If you're 30% at fault, your damages drop by 30%.
Insurers actively work to push fault onto you. That's why the recorded statement is dangerous. That's why gaps in medical treatment hurt your case. Every week you wait to see a doctor is a week the insurer points to as proof you weren't really injured.
Pre-existing conditions matter too. If you had a prior back injury and re-injured it in this crash, they'll try to attribute your current pain entirely to the old injury. An attorney knows how to document the difference and fight that argument.
Settlement Vs. Trial, Which Produces More?
Most New Hampshire personal injury cases settle before trial. That's not a bad thing, trials are expensive, unpredictable, and slow. A well-negotiated settlement can fully compensate you without waiting two or three years for a verdict.
But the threat of trial matters. Insurers know whether the other side will actually go to court. If your attorney has a reputation for trying cases, and winning them, the settlement offers get better. If they know you'll fold, they offer less.
Dave Buckley is a trial-ready attorney. That matters to every client's settlement negotiation, whether or not the case ever reaches a courtroom.
What You Can Do Right Now To Protect Your Claim's Value
Get medical treatment and keep going. Don't stop when you feel a little better. Stop when your doctor discharges you. Gaps in treatment are gaps in your case.
Document everything. Mileage to appointments, over-the-counter medications, anything you pay out of pocket. Keep a pain journal, dates, what hurt, how it affected your day. That's evidence.
Don't accept an early offer without a review. Bring the number to an attorney. If you're being fairly compensated, they'll tell you. If you're being short-changed, they'll fight for the difference.
Get A Real Number From A New Hampshire Attorney
If you've been injured in a car accident in Nashua, Manchester, Londonderry, Concord, or anywhere in New Hampshire, you have the right to know what your case is actually worth, not what the insurance company decides to tell you.
Call Buckley! Call (603) 716-9598
