Personal Injury Settlement Calculator

Insurance adjusters often use multipliers to determine a dollar value for your non-economic damages - such as pain and suffering. They calculate this by adding up all your special (medical and economic) damages and then multiplying that total by a number between 1.5 and 5.

The exact multiplier depends on specific details of your case: the severity of your injuries, the amount of medical treatment received and required, your expected recovery, any permanent effects, and how the injury has affected your daily life.

The choice of multiplier is often negotiated. You may aim for a higher multiplier (like 4 or 5), while the insurance adjuster may push for a lower one (2 or 3).

Using the multiplier gives both parties a starting point: the result represents an estimated value of your general damages. When added to your special damages, it provides a ballpark figure to begin settlement negotiations.

If you are found to have contributed to the accident through your own negligence, you may need to reduce your target settlement amount accordingly. Depending on the state where the accident occurred, the law often requires that any jury award be reduced in proportion to your percentage of fault - and in some cases, your compensation may be completely barred.

There are 3 main types of legal rules that govern how your fault affects your settlement:

1. Contributory Negligence: Under this strict rule, if you are found even slightly at fault, you may be barred from recovering any damages.
2. Pure Comparative Negligence: Your compensation is reduced by the exact percentage of your fault. For example, if you are 30% at fault, your damages award is reduced by 30%.
3. Modified Comparative Negligence: Similar to pure comparative negligence, but you cannot recover damages if your fault exceeds a certain threshold, usually 50% or 51%.

Understanding which rule applies in your case is essential, as it affects how your own carelessness impacts the settlement value.