Average Car Accident Settlements

What Does a Typical Car Accident Settlement Look Like?

The average car accident settlement is reached without having to go to trial. After an accident, there are two potential insurance companies you can pursue. You will either file a claim with the defendant’s insurance company or your own.

If the accident was your fault, your insurance company will cover the repair of your vehicle, but medical bills may not be covered.

However, if the accident is the fault of the other driver, you will seek compensation for medical treatment and other damages by filing a claim against their insurance policy. The amount you can receive for a car accident settlement is linked to that policy.

The maximum amount you can receive from the at-fault driver’s insurance is their policy limit.

If the driver doesn’t have insurance, you can use your uninsured (UM) or underinsured (UIM) motorist coverage. According to Forbes, the average UM claim payout is $29,825.

The average car accident settlement is based heavily on the severity of the injuries. If you have a serious injury, your car accident lawyer will typically be able to secure a larger settlement than if the claim involved only property damage. We’ll go into more depth below.

The final amount depends on how much the insurance company is willing to offer, whether you have a personal injury lawyer, and the types of damages you can seek compensation for.

If you are in need of funding for your car accident claim, check out our resource for plaintiffs seeking car accident lawsuit loans.

What is the average car accident settlement?

There is no single average amount for a car accident settlement. Generally, the average settlement ranges between $3,000 and $75,000. More than half of the participants in a NOLO research article received between $3,000 and $25,000. Ten percent of the pool received between $25,000 and $75,000. It’s interesting to note that while 16% of the individuals received more than $75,000 in compensation, 16% also received less than $3,000 in their settlement for a car accident.

As you can see, there is a very large range for what a car accident settlement amount will be. A car accident settlement can range from a few hundred dollars to over $100,000.

The more severe your injuries, the more likely you will receive a larger settlement.

For instance, someone who is extremely active will receive a larger settlement if they become paraplegic as the result of an accident than if they break a toe. The severity of injuries matters and will play a large role in determining how much your settlement will be worth.

If a person has no pre-existing conditions and a car accident causes them to incur medical bills in the hundreds of thousands of dollars, they will receive more in a potential settlement than someone who has medical bills of only a few hundred dollars.

Hiring a (good) personal injury attorney leads to a higher settlement

On average, an individual who had a personal injury lawyer saw a higher settlement amount than someone who reached a car accident settlement on their own. This is because, in order to reach a personal injury settlement, a person has to go up against insurance companies. While it is perfectly legal to do so, there are more pros than cons to hiring a personal injury lawyer for your car accident claim.

Individuals who had an attorney fight their personal injury claim saw an average car accident settlement amount of $77,600. This is much higher than the average settlement of someone who fought their personal injury claim without a lawyer.

A car accident lawyer will know how to better negotiate any settlement offers from the insurance company. Typically, a car accident lawyer is able to negotiate an additional $30,000 for a personal injury settlement. To ensure you are getting the most from your personal injury claim, we highly suggest you hire a car accident lawyer. Even after attorney fees and other expenses (medical treatment and medical bills), clients saw a higher net amount from their personal injury settlement.

How long, on average, do car accident claims take to settle?

As stated in a Nolo research article, it takes an average of 11.4 months for car accident claims to settle. Resolving a case quickly does not mean you will get the settlement you want. Nolo provided the following breakdown: claims that resulted in no financial compensation took an average of 6.8 months to resolve, while cases that received monetary compensation took an average of 11.4 months.

There are always outliers in any research. Some cases may take years to settle, while others may resolve in three or four months. There is no standard timeline for how long a car accident claim will take; resolution happens on a case-by-case basis. It is safe to assume that if you have been in a car accident, your personal injury case will take some time. This is especially true if you want a settlement that covers all your injuries.

What aspects determine your settlement?

Multiple factors determine the value of a car accident settlement. Use this settlement value calculator to determine the estimated value of your personal injury claim.

These factors determine settlement value:

• Medical bills and treatment – Your settlement will include compensation for medical bills accrued due to your injuries.
• Property damage – Any damage done to the vehicle.
• Loss of income – Loss of any income due to injuries. This includes both missed work due to your injury and treatment, as well as any future loss of income as a result of permanent injury.
• Estimated future medical expenses – If you will require treatment in the future, your recoverable damages may include future medical expenses.
• Pain and suffering – A multiplier between 1.5 and 5 is applied to further compensate for the impact of your injuries.

These are known as damages. The higher the total damages, the more you will receive in your car accident settlement. Damages are typically calculated by experts who can accurately discern how much your injuries have affected, and will continue to affect, your life.

Some things cannot be quantified by a single number. These include mental anguish, pain and suffering, and loss of consortium. Therefore, the economic damages (medical bills, lost wages, property damage, etc.) are multiplied by a number between 1.5 and 5 to account for these mental grievances.

What is the timeline of a car accident case?

Most car accident cases will settle before they reach trial. Here is a timeline of events that would lead up to a trial, if your case required one:

• Accident/injury – This is the car accident caused by the other driver. After an accident, seek medical attention as soon as possible. Not every injury is apparent at once.
• Hire a lawyer – After you have done research in your area, find a good lawyer.
• Seek and complete medical treatment – Seek as much medical treatment as you need to get better. If you cannot afford the treatment, have your attorney write a letter of protection or seek out medical funding.
• Your attorney sends a demand – Your attorney will send out a demand letter stating the amount you are asking for, the reasons why, and how the other party was responsible.
• Negotiations – This is typically where cases are settled. Your attorney and an insurance adjuster will negotiate what they believe is fair for your settlement. Ultimately, it is your decision whether or not to accept any offer.
• Personal injury lawsuit – If negotiations fail, your lawyer will file a lawsuit against the defendants.
• Discovery, depositions, and more – After the lawsuit is filed, each side has time to exchange information. This includes documents, evidence, and depositions of any involved parties.
• Trial – During the trial, you will stand before a judge and jury. At the end of the trial, there is a verdict that determines whether you win the case and how much compensation you are entitled to.

If you would like more information about the chronology of a lawsuit, you can visit our guide.

How much pre-settlement funding would I qualify for?

The amount of pre-settlement funding you qualify for is determined by your damages. Generally, the greater the damages, the more compensation you are entitled to.

This is because pre-settlement funding will advance about 10% to 15% of your potential settlement. Someone who is paralyzed as a result of an accident will have a larger payout than someone who has whiplash. Therefore, they will have a larger pool to draw from when they apply for legal funding.

However, here at Uplift Legal Funding, we understand that life is difficult and things happen. We will always try to get our clients the amount of funding they need to make ends meet.