Car accident settlement calculator

How the estimate works

Insurance adjusters and lawyers value an injury claim in the same order the calculator does:

1. Economic damages: medical bills, future treatment, lost wages and other costs you can document.
2. Pain and suffering: a value for the noneconomic harm, commonly the medical bills times a multiplier.
3. Fault: the total is cut by your share of fault, or wiped out, under your state's rule.
4. Insurance limits: the at-fault driver's bodily injury limit usually caps what you actually collect.
5. What you keep: the attorney fee, case costs and any liens to health insurers or Medicare come off the top.

Economic damages

These are the losses with a receipt: emergency care, doctor and therapy bills, prescriptions, future treatment your doctor expects, wages and earning capacity you lost, and costs such as travel to appointments or paid help at home. Use the full billed amounts for now; the liens guide explains what happens to bills your health insurer already paid.

Pain and suffering

Noneconomic damages cover pain, emotional distress, loss of enjoyment of life and inconvenience. There is no formula in law: juries are told to award what is reasonable in light of the evidence. In negotiations, adjusters usually start from the medical bills times a multiplier:

The pain and suffering calculator compares this with the per diem method, which charges a daily rate for every day until recovery.

Your share of fault

If you were partly to blame, every state cuts your damages, but the cutoff differs:

See every state in our comparative negligence by state table.

No-fault states

In 13 states your own personal injury protection (PIP) pays your medical bills and lost wages first, whoever caused the crash: District of Columbia, Florida, Hawaii, Kansas, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, North Dakota, Pennsylvania, Utah. You can usually claim pain and suffering from the other driver only if the injury passes the state's threshold, such as a serious injury or medical bills above a set amount. Choose one of these states in the calculator to see its threshold. Details are in our no-fault states guide.

Policy limits

The at-fault driver's bodily injury liability limit is usually the most an insurer will pay one injured person, whatever the claim is worth. Many drivers carry only their state minimum, which is as low as $15,000 per person in some states. When the claim is larger, your own underinsured motorist coverage can pay the difference. Compare limits in our minimum car insurance by state table.

Fees and liens

Personal injury lawyers usually work on contingency, commonly one-third of the recovery, sometimes 40% if the case goes to trial, plus case costs. Health insurers, Medicare and Medicaid that paid your accident bills usually have a right to be repaid from the settlement. The attorney fee calculator breaks this down.

Worked example

A driver in a 51% bar state has $18,000 in medical bills, $6,000 in lost wages and $1,000 in other costs after a crash that left a fractured wrist. A jury might find them 20% at fault. The other driver carries $50,000 in bodily injury coverage.

1. Economic damages: $18,000 + $6,000 + $1,000 = $25,000
2. Pain and suffering at a multiplier of 3: $18,000 × 3 = $54,000
3. Claim value: $79,000. After 20% fault: $63,200
4. Capped at the $50,000 policy limit: $50,000. The other $13,200 would need underinsured motorist coverage.
5. One-third fee $16,667, costs $1,500, health insurer lien $4,000: $27,834 to the driver.

Rules by state

Each state page applies that state's rules to the calculator and lists its deadlines and insurance minimums with the statutes.