If you’ve been hurt in an accident caused by someone else, you might be considering filing a personal injury claim. A common first step in the decision-making process is evaluating how much your case is potentially worth. While predicting exact personal injury settlement amounts is impossible, understanding how cases are valued is essential to protecting your rights.
After an accident, insurance companies and opposing parties will likely fight to pay as little as possible. If your claim is undervalued, you may not secure enough funds to cover your property damage, medical expenses, lost wages, and other expenses (like permanent disability or in-home assistance).
In this article, the experienced legal team at Sadaka Law discusses what you need to know about personal injury settlement amounts, navigating settlement negotiations, and securing fair compensation for your injury.
What Determines Personal Injury Settlement Amounts?
Ultimately, personal injury settlement amounts depend on the specifics of your case. The following factors affect compensation amounts:
- Severity of the injury: More serious injuries tend to require more expensive medical treatment, more time off at work, and a greater overall financial burden. Thus, they often garner higher personal injury settlement amounts.
- Impact of the injury: You may qualify for a higher settlement amount if your injury prevents you from working for a long period of time, causes permanent disfigurement, or otherwise significantly reduces your quality of life.
- Strength of the evidence: The more quality evidence you have to support your claim, the better your chances are of winning your personal injury case. Medical records, witness statements, and video/photographic evidence help prove your injuries and losses.
- Insurance policy limits and comparative negligence laws: The available insurance coverage can limit your compensation, as you can’t usually claim more than the policy allows. State laws may also reduce your award if you were partially at fault for the accident.
A final factor that strongly influences personal injury settlement amounts is pain and suffering. This non-economic damage could significantly increase your compensation amount. Speak with your attorney about the possibility of being evaluated for mental and physical pain and suffering.
How Much Are Typical Personal Injury Claims Worth?
The seriousness of your injury is paramount in determining personal injury settlement amounts. That’s because injury severity impacts how much medical treatment you require, how much work you miss, and how drastically your life is affected.
Many accidents cause only minor injuries like sprains, superficial cuts, bruises, and temporary discomfort. Compensation for these injuries usually covers basic medical treatment and lost wages, but not pain and suffering. Typical settlements range from $1,000 to $10,000.
Compensation amounts increase for accidents leading to bone fractures, significant scarring, surgeries, or prolonged recovery periods. Personal injury settlement amounts for major injuries like these typically range from $10,000 to $100,000.
Severe injuries and wrongful death generate the highest settlement amounts. Catastrophic injuries, long-term impairment or disability, and fatalities may produce settlements ranging from hundreds of thousands to millions of dollars, depending on the circumstances.
Average Settlement Amounts by Personal Injury Type
Personal injury settlement amounts also vary by type of accident.
- Car crashes: Car crash compensation factors include liability determinations, injury severity, and the extent of property damage. According to the National Safety Council, the average economic cost of motor-vehicle crashes ranges from $6,100 for ones with property damage only to upwards of $1.86 million for accidents causing death. These values do not account for pain and suffering.
- Motorcycle accidents: Motorcyclists don’t benefit from the built-in protection features of a car. Therefore, crashes involving motorcycles run a higher risk of catastrophic injuries, which often leads to larger settlements. According to the National Institutes of Health, motorcycle accident patients often face hospital bills of upwards of $22,504, not to mention other medical costs after being discharged. Settlements should cover these expenses.
- Slip-and-fall cases: Compensation for common slip-and-fall accidents can range from $10,000 to $50,000. However, cases involving traumatic injuries can exceed $100,000. At Sadaka Law, we recovered $100,000 for a client who tripped and fell down stairs with poor lighting and $250,000 for a different client who fell down stairs after the hand railing broke.
- Traumatic brain injuries (TBIs): Some brain injuries resolve quickly, but severe TBIs often lead to long-term medical care, permanent disability, and loss of earning capacity. This may drive settlement amounts into six or seven figures. A Frontiers in Neurology study found the average compensation amount for TBI personal injury cases to be €292,653 ($306,564) in 2007, though this figure is undoubtedly higher now.
- Dog bites: Like other accidents, compensation for dog bites depends on injury severity, location, emotional trauma, and strength of evidence. In 2023, the average cost per dog bite claim was $58,545.
- Pedestrian accidents: When a motor vehicle strikes a pedestrian, the consequences are often catastrophic. Pedestrian motor vehicle accidents cost victims an average of $135,558, not including emotional damages.
Regardless of the type of accident, the highest payouts often involve catastrophic injuries like brain damage, spinal cord injuries, severe burns, and wrongful death.
Statute of Limitations for New Jersey Personal Injury Claims
A key deadline in the personal injury claims process is the statute of limitations. Passing this time limit usually bars you from seeking compensation forever.
In New Jersey, you must typically file your claim within two years of the date of injury. Only a few limited exceptions exist. For example, if the injured person is a minor, they have two years after turning 18 to file.
However, just because you have two years to file doesn’t mean you should wait that long to contact an attorney. The sooner you hire a lawyer, the sooner they will start gathering evidence and building a strong case to support your claim.
New Jersey Laws That May Reduce Your Personal Injury Settlement
Even if you sustain a serious injury and have strong evidence to prove it, New Jersey laws sometimes limit personal injury settlement amounts.
Comparative Negligence
New Jersey uses a modified comparative fault system for personal injury compensation. That means you may qualify to collect damages as long as you are less responsible for the accident than the defendant. However, your compensation will decrease in proportion to your degree of fault.
For example, perhaps you were slightly exceeding the speed limit when a driver ran a red light and T-boned your car. If the court decides that you have 10% of the blame, it will reduce your award by 10% accordingly.
Damage Caps
Some states place a cap on the amount of compensatory and punitive damages accident victims can receive in personal injury lawsuits. While New Jersey does not cap compensatory damages, it does cap punitive ones, which are designed to punish the defendant for particularly egregious conduct. This cap is either $350,000 or five times the amount of compensatory damages; whichever is greater.
No-Fault Insurance
If you sustained an injury in a car crash, New Jersey’s auto insurance laws may also affect your compensation. The state uses a no-fault insurance model, which means you must turn first to your own insurer for injury coverage regardless of who caused the accident.
Your personal injury protection (PIP) coverage will pay your medical bills and lost wages up to the policy limit. If your medical expenses exceed this cap, you may need to file a personal injury lawsuit to pursue compensation.
When To Settle and When To Go to Trial
Although a personal injury claim offers hope for financial relief, it could be months or years before you see compensation. Lawsuits are time-consuming, stressful, and expensive. It often benefits both parties to settle before the case goes to court.
For this reason, settlement negotiations typically start early in the legal process. Settling can lower costs, reduce stress, and speed up the personal injury lawsuit timeline.
However, going to trial is sometimes necessary. If the defendant denies liability for the accident or offers an unacceptably low settlement amount, the plaintiff must weigh the potential risks and rewards of going to court. An experienced personal injury attorney can help you decide the right course of action.
The Importance of a Knowledgeable Attorney
One of the common mistakes in personal injury claims is not contacting an attorney immediately after your accident. Skilled legal representation can make all the difference when pursuing fair personal injury settlement amounts.
Specifically, personal injury lawyers do the following:
- Navigate the legal process: Attorneys understand state laws, insurance regulations, and the local court system. They will take care of gathering evidence, interviewing witnesses, preparing required documentation, and ensuring compliance with deadlines.
- Negotiate with insurers: Insurance companies typically have powerful legal teams working for them. Experienced personal injury attorneys are familiar with insurance company tactics and have strong negotiation skills to help them maximize settlement offers.
- Represent you in court: If you cannot settle beforehand, your attorney should be prepared to take your case to trial. At Sadaka Law, our seasoned litigators are dedicated to fighting for the rights of victims injured by someone else’s negligence.
When choosing a personal injury attorney, look for a proven track record of success. The attorneys at Sadaka Law have represented thousands of clients and recovered $100 million on their behalf — including several six-figure personal injury cases.
Empower Yourself To Secure a Fair Settlement
Personal injury settlement amounts depend on a variety of factors, including the severity of your injury, the strength of your evidence, and whether or not you have knowledgeable legal representation. Understanding the potential value of your claim is vital to seeking fair compensation.
If you have more questions or are considering filing a claim, Sadaka Law can help. Call (800) 810-3457 or contact us online for a free consultation to protect your legal right to compensation.
