reports@rankings.io | August 16, 2024

How Much Should You Ask For in a Car Accident Settlement?
"A clipboard with a document titled 'Car Accident Settlement Process and Timeline' placed on a wooden table next to a small potted plant.

There is no simple answer (or dollar figure) for how much money you should ask for through a car accident settlement. No financial bracket exists for rear-end accident victims with back injuries or T-bone accident victims with concussions. A St. Petersburg car accident lawyer will speak with you, consult your doctors, gather documentation, and calculate an accident settlement value wholly unique to you.

Those involved in car accidents often lack the experience, knowledge, or mental clarity to calculate a fair settlement value—let alone obtain that settlement. Allow an attorney (who has all three of those prerequisites) to lead your case and negotiate the car accident settlement you deserve.

Start your free consultation

Table of Contents

What Affects the Value of a Car Accident Settlement?

Several variables are relevant when calculating a car accident settlement value, including:

Your Specific Injury Types

Car accidents cause a range of injuries. While it’s difficult to make generalizations about the seriousness of any specific injury, your lawyer will make the details of your injuries a key focus.

Some injuries associated with car accidents include:

  • Whiplash, which may not cause immediate symptoms but can be a persistent, long-term injury
  • Traumatic brain injuries, which can be disabling and cause long-term mood and personality changes (as well as other severe symptoms) in the victim
  • Bone fractures
  • Internal bleeding
  • Injuries affecting critical organs
  • Eye and other facial injuries
  • Amputation injuries

The Severity of Your Injuries

The severity of your injuries will directly correlate to the cost of your case.

The more serious your injuries are, then:

  • The more medical services you may need
  • The longer your medical needs may last
  • The more likely you are to require rehabilitation
  • The more professional damages you are likely to suffer
  • The greater your pain and suffering

Given a choice, people would choose to suffer a minor injury rather than a severe one. Unfortunately, car accident victims don’t have such a choice.

Your Prescribed Medical Treatments

Because medical bills are typically a sizable category of damages in car accident cases, the details of your treatment will affect your case value. Your car accident lawyer will work directly with your doctors and their own medical experts.

Critically, your lawyer will clarify:

  • How far along you are in the recovery process
  • Whether you are going to need medical services after your case is complete
  • Whether you will need rehabilitation in the future
  • How much future medical and rehabilitation services are likely to cost
  • Whether any of your injuries are potentially disabling

Your attorney will work with medical experts and economists to project future medical and rehab expenses if necessary. This way, you won’t have to pay out of your pocket for healthcare needs you face after your case concludes.

The Details of Your Career (Including the Extent to Which the Accident Impacts It)

Your lawyer is going to calculate the professional cost of your car accident. It means that the details of your career will be relevant when calculating your case value.

Your lawyer will consider:

  • What you do for a living
  • How much you earn
  • How long your accident-related injuries will prevent you from working
  • Whether you can resume working in your full capacity or instead have to limit your hours or change your roles once you start again
  • Whether you will miss short- and long-term earning and advancement opportunities because of accident-related injuries

Expect your lawyer to secure any income statements, employment records, and expert insights that help them evaluate your professional damages.

The Extent of Property Damage

Property expenses are another common damage among car accident victims.

Your lawyer will weigh:

  • Whether your vehicle took significant damage
  • Whether your vehicle was totaled
  • The specific cost of repairing or replacing your vehicle
  • The value of any other property (like personal electronics and clothing) that was damaged during the car accident

Property costs are just one more variable your lawyer will account for when determining how much money you deserve.

Your Emotional and Psychological Response to the Car Accident

Pain and suffering will be another key feature of your car accident case. Therefore, the details of any emotional and psychological problems you face will be necessary to your attorney.

Your lawyer will evaluate your damages with an open mind. They will know that every client has different damages (with different financial values), and your lawyer will only be concerned with the details of your damages.

Types of Damages Often Included in Car Accident Settlements

While you know some of the variables that affect a car accident settlement value, you must understand the specific damages your lawyer will seek compensation for. Your lawyer’s settlement demands may include compensation requests for:

A female driver in business attire discussing damage with a mechanic in an orange uniform during a car accident inspection.
  • Pain and suffering, which can include post-traumatic stress disorder, acute and chronic pain, depression, sleep disturbance, lost quality of life, and several other mental, emotional, and physical problems
  • Property damage, which typically includes the cost of repairing a vehicle, replacing a vehicle, renting a car, using rideshare services, and repairing or replacing personal items damaged during the accident
  • Medical costs, which will include the cost of all services to diagnose and treat your injuries, including but not limited to emergency services and rehabilitation services
  • Professional damages, which can include lost income, diminished earning capacity, lost bonuses, lost promotion opportunities, and lost benefits
  • Any other economic or non-economic harm, as your lawyer will present settlement demands that account for the true and total cost of your collision

Car accident victims can receive compensation through insurance claims, lawsuits, or some combination of the two. Your attorney will evaluate your unique circumstances and formulate a personalized case plan.

Who Pays for a Car Accident Victim’s Damages?

The question of who will pay for your accident-related damages depends on several considerations, including:

  • How and why the car accident occurred
  • Who is most (or solely) responsible for the collision
  • Whether multiple parties contributed to the accident
  • Whether the at-fault parties have insurance
  • Coverage limits on at-fault parties’ policies
  • The total financial value of your accident-related damages

While these considerations may seem daunting, they are second nature to an experienced car accident lawyer. Your attorney will gather all necessary information, evidence, and insurance policies and determine who you deserve compensation from.

Common Defendants in Car Accident Lawsuits

Car accidents happen because of unsafe roads, unsafe drivers, unsafe vehicles, and other hazards.

Determining the cause of your car accident will lead your lawyer to liable parties, who may include:

  • A motorist who hit your vehicle
  • A pedestrian who entered the road or engaged in another action that led to the collision
  • A manufacturer or seller of a defective vehicle
  • A municipality who caused, failed to prevent, or failed to address dangerous road conditions
  • An employer whose employee caused your accident

It is vital to know who owes you compensation. Your lawyer might find that a motorist who caused your accident is uninsured, which will substantially affect your case strategy. In another example, your lawyer may discover that a trucking company is liable for an accident their driver caused, and you can sue that company.

Attorneys understand concepts including fault, negligence, and liability like the back of their hands. Allow your attorney to determine who owes you compensation. Your car accident will then build your case and demand those liable parties pay you the compensation they owe you.

How Your Car Accident Lawyer Will Prepare for Settlement Negotiations

Your lawyer must take several steps before they ask for the compensation you deserve during settlement negotiations. These steps include:

Proving Who Caused Your Car Accident (with Convincing Evidence)

Insurance companies and civil defense lawyers may claim you caused your car accident.

Your lawyer will prove:

  1. That you did not cause the accident
  2. That someone else (possibly multiple other parties) did cause the accident

Evidence to help your lawyer make this case includes video of your accident, eyewitness testimony, a police report, and experts’ reconstructions of your collision.

Evaluating All Relevant Insurance Policies

Insurance policies will be a vital piece of the puzzle in your case.

Your attorney will, therefore:

  • Obtain copies of all insurance policies that apply to your accident (including your own)
  • Determine the types and amounts of coverage extended to you through these policies
  • Specifically pinpointing coverage limits, which are one of the most important details of auto accident policies
  • Comparing the coverage afforded by insurance policies to the cost of your accident-related damages

Lawyers are fluent in the language of insurance. Your lawyer will study all relevant policies and explain those policies to you in layman’s terms.

Documenting Damages from Your Car Accident

Your lawyer must prove your damages to secure compensation for them, and may do so using:

  • Your doctor’s written notes about your condition, injuries, symptoms, and treatment requirements
  • Doctors’ and other experts’ explanations of your future medical needs, including any rehabilitation you’ll require
  • Bills from medical providers
  • Bills from the automotive professionals who repair your vehicle
  • Estimates for replacing a totaled vehicle
  • A mental health professional’s evaluation of your pain and suffering, including PTSD, depression, and anxiety

Your attorney will contact your doctors, mental health service providers, employer, and others who can help document your accident-related damages.

Determining Your Case Value

Your lawyer will establish exactly how much money you deserve. The value of your damages will largely determine whether you can get a fair insurance settlement or need to file a lawsuit.

What Happens if Liable Parties Don’t Agree to Fair Settlement Terms?

For you to receive a fair insurance settlement, liable insurance companies have to offer a fair settlement. The same applies if you seek a settlement from an at-fault party’s lawyer.

Your attorney will work to obtain the settlement you deserve by:

Two businessmen in suits examining and discussing details after a car accident while standing next to their vehicles.
  • Presenting proof of fault in a logical, convincing manner
  • Showing detailed documentation of your damages, which will show the true cost of the at-fault party’s negligence
  • Explaining their calculation of your value of the case in an easy-to-understand manner
  • Directly addressing any counterarguments they hear from insurance companies, civil defense lawyers, or other liable parties

Unfortunately, insurers and representatives for at-fault parties have a strong incentive to pay you as little as possible—that incentive is money. Your lawyer must convince the liable parties that you will take them to court if they do not offer the compensation you deserve.

What Happens if I Need to Sue After a Car Accident?

While car accident cases most often settle, attorneys take cases to trial at a reasonably frequent clip.

There is a chance that your case will require trial, especially if:

  • A motorist or other party at fault for the accident lacked insurance.
  • The coverage limits on at-fault parties’ policies are lower than the value of your accident-related damages.
  • Insurance companies blame you for causing the accident, refuse to cover certain losses, question the severity of your injuries, deny your claim, or refuse to offer a fair settlement.
  • At-fault parties engaged in particularly egregious behavior that warrants legal action.

There are many possible reasons to file a car accident lawsuit. Your attorney will give you transparent advice and protect your best interests. This advice will help decide whether to accept an insurance settlement, file a lawsuit, or go to trial.

Can I Afford to Hire a Car Accident Lawyer?

Yes, you can afford a car accident attorney to seek a settlement. St. Petersburg car accident lawyers offer contingency fees, meaning they will cover your entire case cost and only receive a fee if they win for you.

Your lawyer’s fee comes from the money they secure for you, not from your own pocket.

Find Your Car Accident Attorney Today

Hiring a lawyer should be one of your top priorities (right up there with seeking medical attention). Missing your case’s filing deadline means missing your chance to seek all the compensation you deserve, so find and hire your car accident attorney today.

Consultations with car accident attorneys are free, so you can learn about your rights and a potential law firm at no risk.