Personal Injury Settlement Estimator
A rough settlement range. An estimate only, not advice.
Past and future medical bills.
Lost income and earning capacity. Counted once, inside economic damages.
Travel, property damage, and other economic costs.
Typically 1.5–5, higher for more severe injuries.
Whether pain & suffering scales with all economic damages or medical bills only.
Comparative negligence reduces the award by this percentage.
Estimated settlement (after fault)
- Economic damages
- $58,000.00
- General damagespain & suffering
- $174,000.00
- Subtotal
- $232,000.00
Rough estimate, NOT legal advice. Real claim values depend on jurisdiction, evidence, insurance limits, and many factors a calculator cannot capture. Consult a licensed attorney before relying on any number here.
How the settlement estimator works
Personal-injury settlements are usually built from two parts. Economic damages are the costs you can document: medical bills (past and future), lost wages, and other out-of-pocket expenses like travel or property damage. General damages cover pain and suffering, which has no receipt, so it is estimated with a multiplier applied to a base figure.
The calculator follows this exact path. First it sums economicDamages = medical + lostWages + outOfPocket. Lost wages live inside this total and are never added again. It then sets the base to either the full economic total or to medical costs alone, depending on which you choose, and computes generalDamages = base × multiplier. The two parts combine into subtotal = economicDamages + generalDamages. Finally it applies your share of blame: afterComparative = subtotal × (1 − comparativeFaultPct). A multiplier of 1.5 to 5 is the common range, where higher values reflect more severe or lasting injury.
Worked example
Suppose you enter the following in one currency, with the multiplier applied to the economic base and 10 percent comparative fault.
| Input | Value |
|---|---|
| Medical costs | 30,000 |
| Lost wages | 18,000 |
| Out-of-pocket costs | 2,500 |
| Multiplier | 3 |
| Comparative fault | 10% |
The calculator works through it in order:
- Economic damages:
30,000 + 18,000 + 2,500 = 50,500 - General damages:
50,500 × 3 = 151,500 - Subtotal:
50,500 + 151,500 = 202,000 - After comparative fault:
202,000 × (1 − 0.10) = 181,800
The estimated settlement is 181,800. If you had instead chosen the medical base, general damages would be 30,000 × 3 = 90,000, the subtotal 140,500, and the figure after fault 126,450. Switching the base is the single biggest lever on the result, which is why it is worth checking both.
How to use it
- Enter all medical costs you expect, including future treatment, not just bills paid so far.
- Put lost income in the lost wages field only. Do not also add it to out-of-pocket, or you will double-count it.
- Choose a multiplier that matches injury severity: lower for a full recovery, higher for permanent or disabling harm.
- Try both the economic and medical base to see the spread, since parties negotiate within that range.
- Set comparative fault to your realistic share of blame as a percentage. Leave it at zero if you were not at fault.
- Use the optional per-diem rate and days-to-recovery to compare a daily-rate valuation against the multiplier. It is reported on its own and does not change the subtotal.
Limitations
This is an estimate, not legal advice and not a valuation of your case. The multiplier method is a rough convention, not a rule any court or insurer is bound to follow. The figure does not account for policy limits, statutory caps on damages, the strength of your liability evidence, attorney fees, liens, or how a specific jurisdiction treats comparative fault (some bar recovery entirely past a threshold). It also cannot weigh credibility, witnesses, or the appetite of either side to settle. Use it to frame a range and prepare questions, then consult a licensed personal-injury attorney before making any decision.
Frequently asked questions
Are lost wages added on top of the multiplier result?
No. Lost wages sit inside your economic damages alongside medical bills and out-of-pocket costs, so they are counted once. The multiplier is applied to the chosen base (either total economic damages or medical only) to produce general damages, and the final subtotal adds economic and general damages together. Lost wages are never added a second time.
What does the comparative fault percentage do to my estimate?
It reduces the whole subtotal by your share of the blame. If you are found 25 percent at fault, the calculator multiplies the subtotal by 0.75, leaving 75 percent. At 100 percent fault the recovery falls to zero. Real rules vary by state, since some bar recovery once your fault crosses 50 or 51 percent, so treat the reduction as a simplification.
Should I pick the economic base or the medical base for the multiplier?
The economic base applies the multiplier to medical plus lost wages plus out-of-pocket costs, which gives a larger general-damages figure. The medical base applies it to medical bills alone. Insurers and attorneys differ on which they use, so running both shows you the range rather than a single number.
What is the per-diem method and how is it different?
Per diem is an alternative way to value pain and suffering: a daily rate multiplied by the number of days to maximum medical improvement. The calculator reports it separately and does not fold it into the subtotal. It is offered so you can compare the daily-rate approach against the multiplier approach side by side.
Is this estimate something I can rely on in a claim?
No. It is a rough planning figure, not a valuation of your case and not legal advice. Actual settlements depend on liability evidence, insurance limits, jurisdiction, and negotiation. Speak with a licensed personal-injury attorney before acting.