The formula behind your number
Insurers and lawyers value a claim with a rough formula: (economic damages + non-economic damages) minus your share of fault, capped by the at-fault driver's policy limits.
- Economic damages — medical bills (past and future), lost wages, lost earning capacity, and property damage.
- Non-economic damages — pain and suffering, usually estimated with a 1.5–5× multiplier on your economic damages.
- Fault — in most states, your share of the blame reduces your recovery by that percentage.
- Policy limits — you generally can't collect more than the available insurance, no matter the case value.
Why the 'average' is misleading
The Insurance Information Institute pegged the average 2024 bodily-injury liability claim at $28,278 — but that spans everything from a sore neck to a permanent disability. Your number depends on your specific injuries, losses, and coverage, not the national mean.
This is general information, not a valuation of your specific claim.
What quietly shrinks your payout
- Your own percentage of fault under your state's comparative-negligence rule.
- Low policy limits on the at-fault driver.
- Gaps in documentation or inconsistent medical treatment.
Build a claim-specific estimate
A useful estimate starts with the documented medical costs, lost income, other economic losses, non-economic harm, fault, and available coverage in your own claim. SettleFair is designed to help organize those factors without promising a particular value or outcome.