How accurate is this estimate?
We would rather under-promise and be honest than show you a flattering number you can't rely on. This page explains exactly how the estimate is built, where the numbers come from, how we check the law, and — just as important — what the tool cannot know.
1. How the estimate is calculated
The tool uses the standard multiplier method, with two honesty adjustments most calculators leave out.
- Economic damages — your measurable losses: medical bills, lost income, future costs, and property damage. These are added up in full.
- Pain & suffering (non-economic) — estimated as your medical bills × a multiplier (about 1.5× for minor injuries up to ~5× for severe, permanent ones). We apply the multiplier to medical specials only, because pain and suffering tracks the severity of the injury — not how much income you happened to lose or what your car was worth. Lost wages, future costs, and property damage are still recovered in full as economic damages; they're just not multiplied.
- Your state's negligence rule — the total is then adjusted for fault under the law of the state where the crash happened (pure comparative, modified 50%/51% bar, contributory, or South Dakota's slight/gross rule). This is the step most online "calculators" skip, and it can be the difference between a full recovery and zero.
2. Full case value vs. a realistic settlement
The multiplier method gives a claim's full value — effectively a ceiling. But the large majority of injury claims settle before trial, for less than full value, because of litigation risk, disputed liability, and negotiation. So the headline range you see is a settlement estimate: we discount full value by roughly 5–35% (the "Likely" figure is about −20%) to reflect what claims more typically resolve for. The breakdown always shows the full-value math and the discount applied, so nothing is hidden.
We anchor to typical (median-like) outcomes rather than the average, because a handful of enormous verdicts pull the average far above what an ordinary claim recovers.
3. What you can actually collect
A settlement is only worth what someone can pay. After the estimate, the tool shows a reality check: many at-fault drivers carry only their state's legal-minimum coverage (sometimes as little as $15,000–$30,000 per person), and you generally can't collect more than that from their policy. It then lists where else the money can come from — your own or a relative's uninsured/underinsured (UM/UIM) coverage, MedPay/PIP, a commercial policy if the other driver was working, umbrella policies, additional defendants, and more. These are possibilities to investigate, not promises.
4. How we verify the legal data
Accuracy of per-state law is the heart of an honest estimate, so it's the part we work hardest on.
- All 51 jurisdictions (50 states + D.C.) had their negligence rule, no-fault status, and statute of limitations independently verified in June 2026 against authoritative legal sources — official state codes and legislatures where accessible, and the Cornell Legal Information Institute where a state's official code is paywalled or access-restricted. Each state page lists the sources we used and the date it was last reviewed.
- The verification caught and corrected real changes, e.g. Louisiana moving from pure to modified comparative fault and West Virginia's 51% (not 50%) bar.
- The minimum-insurance figures behind the reality check were separately verified against state insurance-department and DMV sources, including 2025–2026 increases (California, Hawaii, New Jersey, Virginia, Utah, North Carolina).
5. What this estimate can't see
It's an automated approximation, not a valuation of your specific case. It cannot weigh:
- Insurance policy limits and the other party's assets — the single biggest reason real payouts come in lower.
- Disputed liability — the other side may argue you were more at fault.
- The strength of your evidence — records, photos, and witnesses move the number a lot.
- No-fault thresholds and damage caps — some states limit when, or how much, pain-and-suffering you can claim.
- Negotiation — the first offer is rarely the last.
Found something out of date?
Laws change, and corrections are genuinely welcome. If you think a state rule, deadline, or figure is wrong, tell us on the Contact page.