Personal Injury Settlement Calculator
How This Personal Injury Settlement Calculator Works
This calculator is designed to give you a rough, educational estimate of what a personal injury settlement might look like after a car accident, slip and fall, workplace injury, or other accidental harm. It focuses on the most common elements of a claim and applies a simple multiplier method that many insurance adjusters and attorneys use as an informal starting point for negotiations.
You enter three main categories of financial loss: medical expenses, property damage, and lost income. You then choose a pain and suffering multiplier that reflects how serious and long-lasting your injuries are. The calculator combines these numbers to produce an estimated settlement range. This can help you understand how your costs fit together before you speak with a lawyer or respond to an insurance offer.
Formula Used in the Calculator
The calculator uses a straightforward multiplier formula that groups your economic losses and then scales them up to approximate non-economic damages such as pain, discomfort, stress, and loss of enjoyment of life.
The basic formula is:
Estimated Settlement = (Medical Expenses + Property Damage + Lost Income) × Pain Multiplier
In symbolic form:
- M = Medical expenses (hospital bills, doctor visits, physical therapy, medications, medical equipment)
- P = Property damage (vehicle repairs, replacement value of damaged items)
- L = Lost income (missed paychecks, reduced hours, or short-term disability income loss)
- n = Pain and suffering multiplier (a number such as 1.5, 2, 3, or 4 that loosely reflects injury severity)
The result S is a simplified estimate and not a prediction of what any specific insurance company, judge, or jury will award in your case.
Understanding Economic vs. Non-Economic Damages
Most personal injury settlements include both economic and non-economic damages. Knowing the difference will help you interpret the calculator results and see what might be missing.
Economic damages
Economic damages are the out-of-pocket financial costs you can document with bills, receipts, and pay stubs. These usually include:
- Medical expenses: emergency room visits, doctor appointments, imaging (X-rays, MRIs), surgery, hospital stays, physical therapy, prescription drugs, and medical devices such as braces or crutches.
- Property damage: repair or replacement costs for your car in a car accident claim, damaged clothing or electronics, or other property harmed in the incident.
- Lost income: lost wages if you could not work while recovering, reduced hours, or a short-term drop in earnings directly tied to the injury.
These numbers are the foundation of the calculator. The more accurately you can estimate them, the more useful the output will be as a planning tool.
Non-economic damages
Non-economic damages compensate you for losses that are real but harder to measure in dollars, such as:
- Pain and physical discomfort
- Emotional distress, anxiety, or sleep problems
- Loss of enjoyment of hobbies or daily activities
- Scarring, disfigurement, or permanent limitations on movement
The pain and suffering multiplier in this calculator is a simplified way to approximate these non-economic harms. In real cases, the value of non-economic damages depends on medical documentation, testimony, and how credible and persuasive your evidence appears to the insurer, judge, or jury.
Choosing a Pain and Suffering Multiplier
The multiplier is where many users have questions. It is not a fixed number dictated by law. Instead, it is an informal tool that tries to summarize injury severity and impact on your life. Common ranges include:
- 1.5× to 2× (Minor injuries): short-term soft tissue injuries, bruises, or sprains that heal relatively quickly with limited treatment.
- 2× to 3× (Moderate injuries): fractures, more serious soft tissue injuries, or conditions requiring ongoing therapy but with a good long-term outlook.
- 3× to 4× (Severe injuries): major surgery, long recovery times, or significant interference with work and daily life.
- 4× and higher (Very severe or catastrophic injuries): permanent disability, disfigurement, or injuries that fundamentally change your ability to work or live independently.
The multiplier you select is ultimately a judgment call. Documentation strengthens your position: medical records, photographs, detailed symptom notes, and statements from caregivers or employers can all influence how insurers or courts view the severity of your case.
Actual multipliers used in negotiations vary widely by jurisdiction, insurer, and the specific facts of your case. The ranges in this tool are illustrative, not promises.
Worked Example: Applying the Formula
To see how the calculator works in practice, consider an example involving a car accident claim:
- Medical expenses (M): $8,000 (emergency room, follow-up visits, and physical therapy)
- Property damage (P): $4,000 (vehicle repairs)
- Lost income (L): $3,000 (four weeks of missed work)
Your total economic damages are:
M + P + L = $8,000 + $4,000 + $3,000 = $15,000
Suppose your injuries are moderate, with a few months of pain and ongoing physical therapy, but a good long-term prognosis. You might choose a multiplier of 2.5.
Using the formula:
Estimated Settlement = $15,000 × 2.5 = $37,500
This number is a rough educational estimate. In reality, an insurance adjuster might make a lower offer if they dispute fault or question some of your treatment, or a higher offer if liability is clear and your documentation is strong. Policy limits, comparative negligence rules, and local jury tendencies can also push the number up or down.
How to Interpret Your Calculator Results
When you see the estimated settlement from this tool, treat it as a starting point for thinking about your claim rather than a target you are guaranteed to receive. Some ways to use the result:
- Compare it with an initial insurance offer to see whether the offer appears unusually low.
- Use it as a framework when listing out your medical bills, repair estimates, and lost wages to discuss with an attorney.
- Adjust the multiplier up or down to see how different views of your injury severity change the estimate.
If your actual offers or expectations differ significantly from the calculator result, consider that there may be case-specific factors at play, such as shared fault, limited insurance coverage, or questions about whether certain treatments were necessary.
What This Calculator Includes vs. What It Leaves Out
The table below summarizes some of the key elements included in the calculator and several important factors it does not directly handle. This can help you understand where a human review is still essential.
| Aspect | Included in Calculator | Details / Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Past medical expenses | Yes | You can enter billed or paid amounts for treatment already received. |
| Property damage | Yes | Estimated cost to repair or replace damaged vehicles or other property. |
| Lost income to date | Yes | Wages or salary lost because you were unable to work while recovering. |
| Pain and suffering | Approximate | Estimated indirectly through a user-selected multiplier. |
| Future medical care | No (unless you estimate and add it) | Long-term treatment, surgeries, or therapy are not calculated automatically. |
| Future loss of earning capacity | No | Complex projections of long-term career impact require professional analysis. |
| Comparative or contributory negligence | No | Fault percentages that reduce your recovery are not built into the formula. |
| Punitive damages | No | Extra damages meant to punish egregious conduct are not estimated here. |
| Attorney fees and case costs | No | Legal fees and litigation expenses are separate from the gross settlement value. |
| Jurisdiction-specific rules | No | State or country laws, damage caps, and procedural rules are not modeled. |
Limitations and Assumptions of This Calculator
This is an educational tool, not a prediction engine. Important limitations include:
- General assumptions only: The formula assumes that liability is reasonably clear and that your documented expenses are related to the accident. Many real cases turn on disputed facts.
- No jurisdictional customization: Laws on damages, fault, and time limits to file a claim vary widely. The calculator does not adjust for your specific state or country.
- Policy limits are ignored: If the at-fault party has low insurance limits, your actual settlement may be constrained no matter what the formula suggests.
- Future losses are simplified: Long-term medical needs and lost earning capacity often require expert opinions, which are beyond the scope of this tool.
- No attorney–client relationship: Using this calculator does not create a legal relationship, and the information provided here is not legal advice.
Because of these limitations, you should not accept or reject a settlement offer based solely on this calculator, especially in serious injury cases.
When to Talk With a Personal Injury Lawyer
While some minor claims can be settled directly with an insurance adjuster, many situations call for guidance from a qualified personal injury attorney. You may want to seek legal advice if:
- You suffered severe or permanent injuries, or you are unsure how long recovery will take.
- Medical bills or lost wages are significant compared with the insurance limits involved.
- Fault is disputed, or more than one party or insurer may be responsible.
- The insurance company denies your claim, delays payment, or makes an offer that seems far below your documented losses.
An experienced attorney can evaluate issues this calculator does not cover, explain your rights, and help you navigate negotiations or litigation.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is this settlement estimate accurate?
No online calculator can predict your actual settlement with accuracy. This tool gives a rough estimate based on the numbers you enter and the multiplier you choose. Real outcomes depend on evidence, credibility, applicable law, insurance limits, and negotiation strategy.
Does this calculator include attorney fees?
No. The estimate reflects a rough gross settlement value before attorney fees, case costs, medical liens, or other deductions. If you hire a lawyer on a contingency fee, their fee is typically a percentage of the final recovery, subject to your agreement.
Can I use this for car accidents, slip and falls, or workplace injuries?
Yes, the basic approach can be applied to many types of personal injury cases, including car accidents, slip and fall injuries, and some workplace accidents. However, specialized areas such as medical malpractice or workers' compensation may have very different rules and valuation methods.
Does the calculator estimate future medical expenses?
The tool does not automatically estimate future care. If you receive a medical opinion about likely future treatment and can estimate its cost, you may choose to add that amount into your medical expenses, understanding that it is a rough projection.
What if the insurance offer is much lower than this estimate?
A low offer could reflect disputes about fault, questions about your treatment, or policy limits. Consider gathering your documentation, comparing it to the calculator inputs, and speaking with a personal injury attorney to understand your options before accepting or rejecting the offer.
Important Disclaimer
The information on this page and the output of this calculator are for general informational and educational purposes only. They are not legal advice, do not take into account all facts and laws that may apply to your situation, and should not be used as the sole basis for any legal or financial decision. Using this tool does not create an attorney–client relationship. For advice about your specific case, consult a licensed attorney in your jurisdiction.