What Is a Fair Settlement for a Car Accident?

Car accident settlements can vary widely because of the unique circumstances of each accident. The severity of our injuries, the responsible party’s insurance coverage, and the number of people involved can all impact your payout.

Hiring a car accident attorney could enable you to achieve a settlement 3 times bigger than if you proceed without one. The experienced legal team at Big Auto Accident Attorneys has decades of combined experience in fighting for fair settlements that help our clients rebuild their lives and face the future confidently. 

Average Car Accident Settlements

Car accidents are as individual as the people involved in them. However, research carried out by the Insurance Information Institute (III) shows that the average claim for bodily injury in car crashes was $26,501 during 2022, and the average property damage payout was $6,551.

These figures are the average — whether they were fair or not depends on several factors. 

Factors Influencing Car Accident Settlements

Generally, the more severe your injuries and the higher your medical expenses, the bigger a settlement you can hope to achieve. However, calculating and achieving a fair settlement is rarely as simple as that. Big Auto’s car accident attorneys consider multiple factors when building strong cases that stand up to scrutiny and result in fair payouts.

Liability for the car crash

Before pursuing compensation, a car accident attorney must first investigate who was liable for the accident. In straightforward cases, one party may be 100-percent liable due to negligent driving, and you will be able to pursue a claim against him or her for compensation. 

However, if you were partially liable for your accident, you may receive a reduced settlement. In some states, you may not be able to recover any compensation if you are partly to blame.

The states use four types of negligence laws that could affect your settlement:

• Contributory negligence: Bars plaintiffs from recovering any damages if they were 1 percent or more to blame for the car accident. Only 4 states and the District of Columbia follow this rule.
• Pure comparative negligence: Car accident victims can seek compensation if they were up to 99 percent liable for their car crash. This rule is followed by 12 states.
• Modified comparative negligence: Plaintiffs can recover damages if they are less than 50 or 51 percent liable, depending on the jurisdiction. In states that follow this rule, your settlement is usually reduced by your level of liability. This is the most common rule, followed by 33 states.
• Slight versus gross negligence: Only South Dakota follows this form of modified comparative negligence, allowing car accident victims to recover damages if their negligence is considered slight. However, if their negligence is deemed gross, they may be unable to recover damages.

If you suspect you are partially liable, do not despair. A Big Auto car accident attorney can guide you through this maze of laws and help you understand your path to recovering compensation.

Type and severity of your injuries

Sadly, 2.38 million people were injured on U.S. roads in 2022. For some of them, their injuries were so severe that their lives would never be the same again. 

Some of the most common catastrophic injuries sustained in car accidents include:

• Traumatic brain injuries
• Paralysis due to spinal cord injuries
• Damage to internal organs
• Broken bones and crush injuries

If you have sustained life-changing injuries, you may face ongoing medical expenses. You may need surgeries, extensive physical therapy, and long-term care. Insurance companies may try to downplay your injuries and offer lowball settlements. That is why it is vital to work with an experienced Big Auto car crash attorney who can fight for a settlement that reflects the true extent of your losses.

Your actions after the accident

After an auto accident, no matter how small or how good you feel, you must seek immediate medical attention. If you do not but later try to claim for injuries sustained in your car accident, you may have a hard time linking your condition to the collision. 

Remember, insurance companies are only interested in their bottom lines. They will pounce on any lack of diligence on your part to claim you are trying to claim for old injuries or you acquired your injuries through other means. So even if you feel fine after getting in a car wreck, always get yourself checked out and start a paper trail of documentation proving your injuries came from your accident.

Also, be careful about what you say and what you post on social media after your accident, as these statements could be used to undermine your case. Avoid doing the following:

• Admitting responsibility for the accident
• Saying you feel fine — either in person or online
• Agreeing to provide a written or recorded statement

Talk to a Big Auto car accident lawyer as soon as possible after your crash. He or she will advise you on the next steps to take to protect your health and your potential compensation.

Your loss of income and earning capacity

If your car accident injuries caused you to take time off work, you may be able to claim compensation for lost wages. If your accident was so severe that you can no longer work or cannot return to the work you did before, you may be entitled to compensation for loss of future earning potential.

Property damage

You can seek compensation for the damage to your vehicle and any other property that was damaged as a direct result of your accident. Keep your receipts and repair bills to file an accurate claim and pursue fair compensation for your losses.

Non-economic damages

Fair compensation often means more than just recouping your financial losses. You will also be entitled to pursue compensation to cover your intangible losses. 

These may include:

• Pain and suffering 
• Emotional distress
• Mental anguish
• Loss of normal marital relationship (known legally as “consortium”)
• Loss of enjoyment in life

A skillful and experienced Big Auto car accident attorney may be able to build a strong case for fair compensation for your losses. In cases involving severe injuries and long-term suffering, fair compensation may be as much as 5 times your economic compensation. 

Car insurance policy limits

Car insurance policy limits are a potential barrier to a fair settlement. If the defendant has the minimum car insurance required in his or her state, the insurance company may only pay a relatively low amount, such as $50,000 for bodily injury per person. If your injuries are catastrophic, that will likely be far too low to cover your medical expenses.

However, a Big Auto car accident attorney may still be able to pursue a fair settlement that reflects your losses. It may be possible to sue the individual or other liable parties to get the compensation you deserve.

Let Big Auto Accident Attorneys Fight for a Fair Settlement

At Big Auto, we understand that you want justice in the form of a fair settlement after your car accident. Car accident cases can be complex, especially when they involve multiple vehicles, shared liability, or life-changing injuries. You need a car accident attorney with experience in fighting challenging cases and coming away with fair settlements for his or her clients.

The track record of Big Auto Accident Attorneys speaks for itself. We and our attorney co-counsels throughout the nation have achieved outstanding verdicts and settlements that put a smile back on our clients’ faces. 

Rest assured that you won’t have to pay a penny to start your case, and you will only pay us if we win. At our first consultation, we may even be able to give you a ballpark figure for fair compensation based on our experience of previous cases.

An experienced car accident lawyer from our national team is ready to hear your story and start fighting for justice. Call us right now at 1 (844) BIG-AUTO to schedule a free case evaluation. Alternatively, fill out our contact form, and we will call you back to discuss your case.