Estimate your injury settlement range with the multiplier method, minus fault and fees
There's no official formula, but injury claims are commonly valued with the multiplier method: your medical costs times 1.5 to 5 based on severity, plus lost wages and property damage. On this calculator's defaults ($20,000 in medical bills, $5,000 in lost wages, $2,000 in property damage, 2x multiplier), that gives a $57,000 to $77,000 range before fault and fees, with a $67,000 midpoint. For context, Martindale-Nolo's reader survey put the average personal injury payout at $52,900, with most readers receiving between $3,000 and $75,000.
| Severity | Typical Multiplier | Example Injuries |
|---|---|---|
| Minor, fully recovered | 1.5x | Sprains, bruising, mild whiplash resolved with brief treatment |
| Moderate, full recovery expected | 2x | Soft tissue injuries with months of treatment, simple fractures that healed |
| Serious, long recovery | 3x | Fractures needing surgery, herniated discs, ligament tears |
| Severe or permanent | 4x | Permanent partial disability, nerve damage, significant scarring |
| Catastrophic | 5x | Traumatic brain injury, spinal cord damage, amputation |
The calculator tests half a point on either side of your pick to build the range, since two adjusters can look at the same file and land on different numbers.
| Claim Type | Commonly Published Range | What Moves It |
|---|---|---|
| Rear-end, soft tissue only | $10,000 – $25,000 | Short treatment windows keep the math small |
| Whiplash with sustained treatment | $10,000 – $30,000 | Documented months of care raise the multiplier |
| Broken bone | $50,000 – $150,000 | Surgery versus a cast changes the tier |
| Herniated disc | $40,000 – $350,000 | Injections versus fusion surgery is a huge spread |
| Traumatic brain injury | $100,000 – $1M+ | Lifetime care costs dominate the value |
These are published national ranges for education only, and every one of them varies enormously. Policy limits, state law, venue, and how well the injury is documented all move the outcome, sometimes by an order of magnitude.
This tool estimates what a personal injury claim might settle for, whatever caused the injury. It uses the same structure a demand letter uses: economic losses first, a pain and suffering multiplier second, then adjustments for fault and attorney fees. If your case came from a crash, a fall, or a dog bite, the niche calculators linked below add claim-specific data. This is the general-purpose version.
Your economic damages are medical bills to date, projected future treatment, lost wages, and lost future earnings, all counted in full. Pain and suffering is estimated by multiplying your medical specials (bills to date plus future care) by 1.5 to 5 based on severity. Lost wages count as economic damages but aren't multiplied here, and property damage gets added on top, never multiplied. Subtract your fault share, then the contingency fee: typically 33% if the case settles before a lawsuit is filed, 40% after.
Enter real numbers from your bills and pay stubs, not guesses. Pick the severity tier honestly, since it swings the result more than any other input. If treatment is ongoing, ask your provider for a projection and put it under future medical costs; settling before you know that number is how people end up underpaid. Then try the attorney fee both ways to see what representation costs and what it would need to add to pay for itself.
Take the defaults: $20,000 in medical bills and $5,000 in lost wages make $25,000 in economic damages. A moderate injury at 2x puts pain and suffering at $40,000, calculated on the $20,000 in medical specials. Add $2,000 in property damage and the gross case value is $67,000. Testing multipliers of 1.5x and 2.5x gives a range of $57,000 to $77,000 before fees. With no fault reduction, a 33% fee on the $67,000 midpoint takes $22,110, leaving an estimated $44,890 net before case costs.
Two hard limits the formula ignores: policy limits cap what you can practically collect regardless of the math, and contributory-negligence states (Alabama, Maryland, North Carolina, Virginia, and DC) can bar recovery entirely if you share any fault. State law and a licensed attorney decide what your case is actually worth.
Add your economic losses: medical bills, projected future care, lost wages, and lost future earnings. Then estimate pain and suffering by multiplying your medical costs by 1.5 to 5 based on severity, and add property damage on top. On $20,000 in medical bills with $5,000 in lost wages and $2,000 in property damage, a 2x multiplier puts the gross value at $67,000 before fault reductions and fees.
It's the standard shorthand for valuing pain and suffering: multiply your medical specials (bills to date plus expected future treatment) by a factor of 1.5 to 5 tied to injury severity. A minor injury that healed fully sits near 1.5, while catastrophic injuries reach 5. Insurers don't have to follow it, and adjusters often run claims through evaluation software instead, but it remains the anchor most demand letters are built on.
33% is the typical contingency fee when a case settles before a lawsuit is filed, rising to around 40% after filing. On a $67,000 settlement, a 33% fee is $22,110, leaving $44,890 before case costs like filing fees, records, and expert witnesses, which usually come out separately. You pay nothing up front, and nothing at all if there's no recovery.
Yes, by your percentage of fault in most states under comparative negligence. A $345,000 case drops to $276,000 if you're 20% responsible. In contributory-negligence jurisdictions (Alabama, Maryland, North Carolina, Virginia, and DC), even a small share of fault can bar recovery entirely, so fault arguments matter far more there.
A few months is common for a straightforward claim that settles before a lawsuit, usually after your treatment wraps up. Filing suit stretches the timeline to a year or two, and complex cases run longer. Settling before you reach maximum medical improvement is the classic mistake: once you sign the release, later bills for the same injury are yours.