{
  "slug": "car-accident-settlement-calculator",
  "title": "Car Accident Settlement Calculator — Estimate Your Claim (2026)",
  "heading": "Car Accident Settlement Calculator",
  "category": "financial",
  "url": "https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/car-accident-settlement-calculator",
  "summary": "Add medical bills, lost wages, and a pain-and-suffering multiplier — see a realistic settlement range and what's left after fees and liens.",
  "description": "Insurance adjusters value most soft-tissue and moderate-injury claims with a simple structure: your economic damages (medical treatment and lost income) plus a multiple of those damages for pain and suffering, reduced by your share of fault. This calculator runs that math, then subtracts contingency fees and medical liens so you see the number that actually reaches your bank account.",
  "formula": "Economic damages = medical bills + future treatment + lost wages. Pain and suffering = economic damages × multiplier. Claim value = (economic + pain and suffering + property damage) × (1 − your fault share). Net = claim value − contingency fee − liens.",
  "dateModified": "2026-08-31",
  "run_url": "https://www.revenuelab.fyi/api/public/calc?tool=car-accident-settlement-calculator",
  "inputs": [
    {
      "id": "medical",
      "label": "Medical bills to date",
      "kind": "number",
      "hint": null,
      "default": 9500,
      "unit": "$",
      "min": 0,
      "max": null
    },
    {
      "id": "futureMedical",
      "label": "Expected future treatment",
      "kind": "number",
      "hint": null,
      "default": 2000,
      "unit": "$",
      "min": 0,
      "max": null
    },
    {
      "id": "lostWages",
      "label": "Lost wages",
      "kind": "number",
      "hint": null,
      "default": 3800,
      "unit": "$",
      "min": 0,
      "max": null
    },
    {
      "id": "propertyDamage",
      "label": "Vehicle and property damage",
      "kind": "number",
      "hint": null,
      "default": 6500,
      "unit": "$",
      "min": 0,
      "max": null
    },
    {
      "id": "multiplier",
      "label": "Pain and suffering multiplier",
      "kind": "number",
      "hint": "1.5–2 for minor soft tissue, 3–4 for injuries with objective findings, 5+ for permanent injury.",
      "default": 2,
      "unit": null,
      "min": 0,
      "max": 10
    },
    {
      "id": "faultPct",
      "label": "Your share of fault",
      "kind": "number",
      "hint": null,
      "default": 0,
      "unit": "%",
      "min": 0,
      "max": 100
    },
    {
      "id": "attorneyPct",
      "label": "Attorney contingency fee",
      "kind": "number",
      "hint": null,
      "default": 33,
      "unit": "%",
      "min": 0,
      "max": 45
    },
    {
      "id": "liens",
      "label": "Medical liens or health insurance repayment",
      "kind": "number",
      "hint": null,
      "default": 0,
      "unit": "$",
      "min": 0,
      "max": null
    }
  ],
  "outputs": [
    {
      "id": "gross",
      "label": "Estimated settlement value",
      "format": "currency",
      "hint": null,
      "primary": true
    },
    {
      "id": "low",
      "label": "Conservative end of range",
      "format": "currency",
      "hint": null,
      "primary": false
    },
    {
      "id": "high",
      "label": "Optimistic end of range",
      "format": "currency",
      "hint": null,
      "primary": false
    },
    {
      "id": "economic",
      "label": "Economic damages",
      "format": "currency",
      "hint": null,
      "primary": false
    },
    {
      "id": "painSuffering",
      "label": "Pain and suffering component",
      "format": "currency",
      "hint": null,
      "primary": false
    },
    {
      "id": "fee",
      "label": "Attorney fee",
      "format": "currency",
      "hint": null,
      "primary": false
    },
    {
      "id": "net",
      "label": "Estimated net to you",
      "format": "currency",
      "hint": null,
      "primary": false
    }
  ],
  "worked_example": {
    "inputs": [
      "Medical bills to date: 9500 $",
      "Expected future treatment: 2000 $",
      "Lost wages: 3800 $",
      "Vehicle and property damage: 6500 $",
      "Pain and suffering multiplier: 2",
      "Your share of fault: 0 %",
      "Attorney contingency fee: 33 %",
      "Medical liens or health insurance repayment: 0 $"
    ],
    "outputs": [
      "Estimated settlement value: $52,400.00",
      "Conservative end of range: $39,300.00",
      "Optimistic end of range: $70,740.00",
      "Economic damages: $15,300.00",
      "Pain and suffering component: $30,600.00",
      "Attorney fee: $17,292.00",
      "Estimated net to you: $35,108.00"
    ]
  },
  "how_to": {
    "title": "How to use this",
    "steps": [
      "Enter medical bills to date ($).",
      "Enter expected future treatment ($).",
      "Enter lost wages ($).",
      "Enter vehicle and property damage ($).",
      "Enter pain and suffering multiplier — 1.5–2 for minor soft tissue, 3–4 for injuries with objective findings, 5+ for permanent injury..",
      "Enter your share of fault (%).",
      "Enter attorney contingency fee (%).",
      "Enter medical liens or health insurance repayment ($).",
      "Read your estimated settlement value on the right — it updates as you type.",
      "Hit Share to keep the scenario or send it to someone."
    ]
  },
  "scenarios": [
    {
      "name": "Minor soft tissue",
      "values": {
        "medical": 4200,
        "futureMedical": 0,
        "lostWages": 900,
        "propertyDamage": 3800,
        "multiplier": 1.5
      }
    },
    {
      "name": "Physical therapy course",
      "values": {
        "medical": 9500,
        "futureMedical": 2000,
        "lostWages": 3800,
        "propertyDamage": 6500,
        "multiplier": 3
      }
    },
    {
      "name": "Surgery, partly at fault",
      "values": {
        "medical": 48000,
        "futureMedical": 15000,
        "lostWages": 22000,
        "propertyDamage": 12000,
        "multiplier": 4,
        "faultPct": 20
      }
    }
  ],
  "limitations": [
    "Results are estimates before tax, fees, and inflation unless an input explicitly covers them.",
    "Rates are treated as fixed for the whole period — variable-rate products will drift from this projection.",
    "This is educational maths, not financial advice. Check anything contractual with the lender or your accountant."
  ],
  "faq": [
    {
      "q": "How do insurance companies calculate a car accident settlement?",
      "a": "Most adjusters start with your economic damages — medical treatment and documented lost income — and apply a multiplier for pain and suffering, typically 1.5 to 5 depending on injury severity, objective medical findings, and how long treatment lasted. Property damage is settled separately. Comparative fault then reduces the total by your percentage of blame."
    },
    {
      "q": "What is a typical pain and suffering multiplier?",
      "a": "Minor soft-tissue injuries that resolve in a few weeks usually land at 1.5 to 2. Injuries with objective findings on imaging, or that require physical therapy over months, commonly reach 3 to 4. Permanent impairment, surgery, or disfigurement can push past 5."
    },
    {
      "q": "Does the other driver's policy limit cap my settlement?",
      "a": "In practice, yes. If the at-fault driver carries a $50,000 bodily-injury limit and has no meaningful assets, that's usually the ceiling regardless of what your claim is worth. Your own underinsured motorist coverage is often the only route above it."
    },
    {
      "q": "Are car accident settlements taxable?",
      "a": "Compensation for physical injuries and related medical costs is generally not taxable. Interest on the settlement, punitive damages, and any portion allocated to lost wages in some circumstances can be. Confirm the allocation in the release before you sign."
    },
    {
      "q": "How does being partly at fault affect my payout?",
      "a": "Most states use comparative negligence: your award is reduced by your percentage of fault. A handful of states bar recovery entirely once you're 50% or 51% responsible, and a few still apply strict contributory negligence, where any fault at all defeats the claim."
    }
  ],
  "related": [
    "https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/workers-comp-settlement-calculator",
    "https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/disability-back-pay-calculator",
    "https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/severance-pay-calculator"
  ],
  "license": "CC-BY-4.0",
  "citation": "RevenueLab — Car Accident Settlement Calculator — Estimate Your Claim (2026) (https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/car-accident-settlement-calculator)"
}