How we estimate a settlement
Transparency is the point. Here is exactly how every calculator on this site produces its range, and where the estimate stops and a lawyer begins.
1. The multiplier method
Our calculators use the multiplier method, the same framework insurance adjusters and personal-injury attorneys use as a starting point:
- Economic damages (specials) = medical bills + lost wages. Documented, objective losses.
- Non-economic damages = medical bills × a severity multiplier. This estimates pain, suffering, and reduced quality of life.
- Gross settlement = economic + non-economic damages.
- Net settlement = gross × (1 − your fault %), applying comparative negligence, rounded to the nearest $250.
2. Our severity bands
We map injury severity to a multiplier range rather than a single factor, because the honest answer is a range:
| Minor, soft-tissue, full recovery | ×1.5–2 |
| Moderate, treatment needed, mostly recovers | ×2–3.5 |
| Severe, surgery or lasting limitation | ×3.5–4.5 |
| Catastrophic, permanent / life-altering | ×4.5–5 |
3. Workers' compensation is different
Workers' comp does not compensate for pain and suffering. There, the "multiplier" approximates the permanent-disability component (driven by your impairment rating and your state's benefit schedule), on top of future medical and wage-loss benefits. Treat the workers'-comp estimate as a rough range, not a state-exact figure.
4. What the estimate cannot know
- Liability strength, how clearly the other party was at fault.
- Insurance policy limits, which can cap a payout below the estimate.
- Venue and jury tendencies, settlements vary widely by location.
- Evidence quality, imaging, records, and witness consistency.
That is why every estimate ends with the same recommendation: a free review by a licensed attorney in your state.
5. Sources
- Insurance Information Institute, auto and liability claim data (iii.org)
- U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Workers' Compensation Programs (dol.gov/owcp)
- Published claims-adjuster and jury-verdict references on the multiplier and per-diem methods