Find Out What Your Car Accident Case Is Worth
Get a free, instant estimate based on real settlement methodology — medical bills, injuries, lost wages, and your state's fault rules. No email required.
An honest estimate — fault is often negotiable.
A car accident settlement is built from two pieces: your economic damages (medical bills, lost wages, and property damage) plus a pain-and-suffering amount that reflects how the injury affected your life. Our calculator runs the same methodology attorneys use — a damages multiplier cross-checked against a per-diem method — then adjusts for your state's comparative-negligence rule.
The result is an honest low-to-high range rather than a single false-precision number. Use it to understand whether an insurance offer is fair, whether you should talk to a lawyer, and roughly where your case might land.
How the estimate works
Tell us what happened
Answer a short 5-step wizard about the accident, your injuries, costs, and insurance. No personal info required.
Our engine runs the math
A server-side model applies a damages multiplier, a per-diem cross-check, and your state's fault rules.
See your range instantly
Get a conservative-to-trial settlement range with a full breakdown — then connect with a lawyer if you want.
What affects your settlement
Why we show a range, not one number
Real settlements are negotiated, not fixed. We return a conservative, likely, and trial-potential figure so you can instantly tell when an insurer's offer is lowball.
Never accept the first offer blindly
Initial insurance offers are typically far below true case value and are designed to close fast — before you understand your long-term costs. A free review almost always raises the number.
Most lawyers cost nothing upfront
Personal injury attorneys generally work on contingency: they're paid a percentage only if you win. Studies consistently show represented claimants net more even after fees.
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States covered
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Injury types modeled
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To your estimate
Car accident settlement questions, answered
How much is my car accident settlement worth?+
A car accident settlement is generally calculated by adding your economic damages (medical bills, lost wages, property damage) to a pain-and-suffering amount, then adjusting for your share of fault. Pain and suffering is usually estimated by multiplying your medical bills by a factor between 1.5x and 5x — higher for severe or permanent injuries. Our calculator runs this math on the server and returns a low-to-high range.
What is the average settlement for a car accident?+
There is no single average because settlements depend on injury severity, medical costs, lost income, and state law. Minor soft-tissue cases often settle for a few thousand to around $15,000, while serious injuries with surgery routinely reach the tens or hundreds of thousands. Catastrophic injuries and wrongful death cases can exceed $1 million. Use the calculator above for an estimate tailored to your facts.
How do lawyers calculate pain and suffering?+
Attorneys use two main methods. The multiplier method multiplies your total medical bills by a number from roughly 1.5 to 5 (or higher for catastrophic injuries) based on severity. The per-diem method assigns a daily dollar value to your suffering and multiplies it by the number of recovery days. Our engine computes both and reconciles them into a defensible range.
Does my percentage of fault reduce my settlement?+
Yes. Most states follow comparative negligence, reducing your recovery by your share of fault — so 20% fault cuts a $50,000 award to $40,000. A few states (Alabama, Maryland, North Carolina, Virginia, and Washington D.C.) follow strict contributory negligence, which can bar recovery if you are even 1% at fault. Our calculator applies your state's specific rule automatically.
How long does a car accident settlement take?+
Simple claims with clear liability can settle in a few weeks to a few months. Cases involving serious injuries, disputed fault, or litigation can take one to three years. Settling too early — before you know the full extent of your injuries — is one of the most common and costly mistakes accident victims make.
Should I accept the insurance company's first offer?+
Usually not. First offers are typically far below a claim's real value and are designed to close the case quickly before you understand your future medical needs. Having an attorney review the offer almost always increases the final settlement, and most personal injury lawyers work on contingency, meaning no upfront cost.
Do I need a lawyer for a car accident claim?+
For minor accidents with no injuries you may not. But if you have meaningful medical bills, missed work, lasting symptoms, disputed fault, or a commercial defendant like a trucking company, a lawyer typically recovers substantially more than you would alone — even after their fee. A free case review costs nothing and clarifies whether you need one.
Is this car accident settlement calculator accurate?+
It gives a credible, methodology-based estimate using the same multiplier and per-diem approaches attorneys use, plus your state's negligence rules. However, no calculator can account for every fact — evidence quality, witness credibility, the specific insurer, and venue all matter. Treat the result as an informed starting range, not a guarantee.