Accident Settlement Calculator

Methodology and Sources

The calculator is transparent by design: every estimate is broken into the steps below, and each state rule is taken from official statutes or agencies, with the source linked on the state's page and a last-verified date.

Calculation steps

  1. Economic damages = medical bills + expected future treatment + lost wages.
  2. No-fault states: your own PIP/MedPay benefits are applied to economic damages first and are not claimed again from the at-fault driver. Pain and suffering is set to zero unless you indicate that your injury meets the state's threshold.
  3. Pain and suffering = economic damages × (multiplier − 1). Multipliers by severity:minor 1.5–2; moderate 2–3; serious 3–4; severe 4–5. The low, middle and high figures use the low, midpoint and high multiplier. Where a state caps non-economic damages for auto injuries, the cap is applied.
  4. Fault: pure comparative states reduce the claim by your fault percentage; modified comparative states bar recovery at 50% or 51% fault (as stated per state); contributory negligence jurisdictions bar recovery for any fault.
  5. Insurance ceiling: the at-fault driver's bodily injury limit (your input, or the state minimum if unknown) plus your UM/UIM coverage.
  6. Take-home = settlement × (1 − attorney fee %) − case costs − medical liens, never below zero.

Assumptions and limitations

How state data is maintained

Each state record lists the statute or agency it comes from and the date it was last verified. Open questions that could not be confirmed from official sources are kept out of the calculator until they are. Found an error? Email contact@accidentsettlementcalculator.org.