Car Accident Injury Average: How Much of a Settlement Should I Expect?

How Much of a Settlement for a Car Accident?

Automobile accidents can cause a number of serious injuries to the head, neck, back, shoulders, arms, and legs. Depending on where your vehicle was hit, the force of the impact, and the type of vehicles involved will determine the extent and severity of your injuries.

Considering these factors, no two accidents will ever be the same, so it follows that no two injury settlements will ever be identical either. And despite what some attorneys would car accident settlementhave you believe, there is no perfect formula or multiplier used to calculate your settlement. Each settlement is tailored for each particular situation.

Your accident injury settlement will typically be based upon the following general factors:

  • Medical bills
  • Future medical bills
  • Property damage of your lost vehicle
  • Lost wages due to your recovery
  • Pain and suffering
  • Loss of consortium
  • Emotional strain

Depending on the severity of your accident, a minor rear end collision compared to a cataclysmic crash, your accident settlement could vary anywhere from lower 4-figures up to the million-dollar range. This article will cover the most common injuries our car accident lawyers often encounter so you can compile a potential estimate about your own situation.

How Much of a Settlement for a Head Injury after a Car Accident?

Car accidents can cause head injuries as minor as a basic concussion or as serious as a full-on TBI (traumatic brain injury). Oftentimes, victims won’t even know they have suffered a head injury until days or even weeks after their accident. Head injuries can cause several different types of symptoms, such as speech impairment, sudden behavioral or emotional shifts, motor function issues, or memory loss. The settlement amount you receive will largely depend on the severity of your head injury.

What is the average settlement for a concussion?

Depending on the insurance policies involved and the severity of your accident, if you’ve suffered a concussion you could receive a substantial injury settlement. While it’s impossible to put an exact number to compensate your injuries and losses, the final amount will depend on how severe the concussion is and how much of a detrimental effect it has had on your life and employment. Some concussions heal within weeks, while others can last for months or even years.

What is the average settlement for post-concussion syndrome?

A major factor leading to higher settlements following a car accident induced concussion is that of post-concussion syndrome. Unlike a concussion, which usually heals within weeks of the initial injury, post-concussion syndrome can affect a victim for months after their car accident. It is a complex disorder that causes chronic migraines, dizziness, loss of memory, and several other ailments. While there isn’t enough data to fully establish an average settlement amount for post-concussion syndrome injuries, more severe cases have settled for substantial amounts if the negative effects were long lasting. Frequently, these types of injuries are compensated to victims whom have suffered several other injuries during their car accidents.

What is the average settlement for a traumatic brain injury (TBI)?

A Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) is a far more serious injury than a concussion and rightly deserves much higher compensation in the event of a settlement. Victims often require longer hospital stays, more expensive medical treatments, and more lengthy health complications. More severe TBI’s, however, may require substantial compensation if you suffer long-term complications or impairment.

neck injury settlementHow Much of a Settlement for a Neck Injury from a Car Accident?

While the majority of neck injuries are more an annoyance than life-threatening, some neck injuries can leave victims debilitating for months on end. Serious injuries to the spinal cord, nerves, or the vertebrae in the neck can lead to high-dollar settlements to compensate car accident victims. More minor injuries though will certainly be far lower settlements, as you can see below:

What is the average settlement for whiplash?

Whiplash is the strain or even tearing of muscles in the neck and shoulders due to the unnatural back and forth motion of the head caused by a car accident. Whiplash injuries can cause victims pain, discomfort, and a loss of quality of life. Most car accident injury cases involving whiplash settle for minor sums of money since the effects only linger for weeks or months. More severe whiplash injuries have been known to be compensated up to much higher amounts, but such instances are rare.

How Much of a Settlement for a Back Injury after a Car Accident?

Similar to the head and neck, back injuries can either be minor or far more serious, such as a spinal cord injury. Minor back injuries like simple strain up to a herniated disc will be compensated far less than injuries requiring surgery or cause paralysis. A minor back injury claim usually settles for a considerable amount. Injuries involving the spine, on the other hand, typically settle for far larger sums.

What is the average settlement for a spinal injury?

Spinal injuries are based around whether you were paralyzed or suffered some form of paralysis due to the accident. If you did, however, suffer paralysis due to your injuries, then your settlement could potentially be for a substantial amount of money. It’s common for many spinal cord injuries that cause paralysis to settle for high-dollar amounts due to the long term damages caused to the victim.

How Much of a Settlement for a Shoulder Injury?

Shoulder injury settlements are based on a number of different injuries from broken shoulder blades to bursitis to simple sprains and muscle tears. Determining a shoulder injury settlement depends on how seriously you were injured. Torn ligaments or strained shoulder muscles will likely settle for far below this amount. More serious shoulder injuries such as those that cause Permanent Total Disability (PTD) or Permanent Partial Disability (PPD) will almost certainly settle for totals far higher than for minor injuries.

How Much of a Settlement for an Arm Injury?

Arm and hand injuries are the most overlooked of all injuries following a car accident. However, broken bones, dislocation, damaged tendons, and fractured wrists and elbows can leave victims unable to go about their lives like they did before their accident. The average settlement for a broken arm from a car accident is somewhat high due to the long-term effects of the injury. Injuries to the wrist or elbow can settle for far more if surgery is required to help reconstruct the damaged area, with many such cases often settling for higher amounts as well.

What is the Average Settlement for a Car Accident?

head injury settlementCalculating the exact amount of your potential car accident settlement is a difficult task due to how many factors are used in the evaluation process. Some of the most commonly used factors are: the state in which the accident occurred, the insurance policies involved, and, most importantly, the types of injuries you have suffered. Remember, no two accidents are alike, so it follows that no two accident settlements will ever be alike either. 

Thankfully, most car accidents are mere fender benders that don’t cause serious injuries. They will settle for smaller amounts, more than enough to compensate your economic and non-economic expenses. Severe car accidents that cause spinal or brain injuries often settle for much higher amounts since they tend to cause long-term damage. And accidents that cause paralysis or death will almost always settle in an even higher range since these effects are likely permanent. Thankfully, major accidents such as these are rare, so you hopefully will never have to worry about being injured in such a dangerous type of accident.

Contact The Advocates Today About Your Car Accident

If you’ve been injured in a car accident through no fault of your own, you need an Advocate on your side. Our attorneys know best how to get you maximum compensation for your injuries and losses. We have decades of experience helping victims all throughout Utah recover what they are owed according to the law. Don’t wait to contact us today about your case. You can either call us for a free consultation at (801) 326-0809, fill out the form below, or chat online right now from our homepage with a live personal injury lawyer. Don’t settle for second best. Your case deserves an Advocate.

**The settlement amounts listed below are mere projections and do not constitute real case success. Results are not guaranteed. Estimates do not indicate future results.**

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