Were you involved in a car accident that wasn’t your fault? Understanding how much you could be entitled ensures you get the settlement you deserve. There is no standard settlement because every auto accident is different, but your claim’s worth ultimately depends on the extent of your losses.
The latest surveys, as reported by Forbes, reveal that average settlements in 2020 ranged from $20,000 to $25,000, but that’s merely the average and doesn’t tell the whole story. If serious injuries are involved, your claim could be worth six or seven figures.
In all cases, hiring a San Antonio car accident lawyer is the biggest factor in whether you get the settlement you deserve. Today, we discuss what goes into determining the value of your claim.
Key Takeaways
- Car accident victims can claim all economic and non-economic damages when filing a personal injury lawsuit.
- Most car accident settlements fall within the low five-figure range, but car accidents involving serious injuries could be worth millions of dollars.
- Types of damages you can claim as part of your settlement include medical bills, lost wages, pain and suffering, future lost earnings potential, and property damage.
- Settlements can take anywhere from a few weeks to a few years to obtain, based on the nature of your accident. Your lawyer will analyze your case to determine whether you have a case and how long it might take to receive a settlement.
- Be aware of state-specific laws that apply to car accident claims, including the statute of limitations, damage caps, contributory negligence, and fault determination.
- Always hire a lawyer to pursue your case because they’ll build you the strongest case, maximize your settlement, and help you negotiate the complex tort system.
What Damages Are Car Accident Victims Entitled To?
All damages caused by your car accident can be factored into your final settlement. These include economic losses, such as medical bills and lost wages, and non-economic losses, including pain and suffering and loss of companionship.
The extent of your injuries and what those injuries mean for the rest of your life will ultimately decide what you’re entitled to.
All losses are taken into account, including immediate and future losses. Enlisting a personal injury attorney is crucial for exploring every avenue and ensuring your losses are properly compensated.
How Much are Most Car Accident Settlements?
Typical car accident settlements are in the low five-figure range, but there is no typical settlement because every car accident differs. The type of injury and its impact on your life will be the determining factor in your final settlement
For example, the Lawsuit Information Center reports that the average settlement for neck and back injuries ranges from $12,000 to $90,000. However, the Insurance Information Institute reports the average collision claim against auto insurance firms was a mere $5,992.
The huge variation in settlements means averages aren’t particularly reliable because of the uniqueness of every car accident claim.
What’s clear is that hiring a lawyer will increase your settlement amount many times over. According to Nolo, the average settlement amount is four times higher when hiring a lawyer than settlements obtained without legal representation.
What Are the Factors That Influence Car Accident Settlements?
The overall settlement value in a personal injury claim arising from a car accident depends on calculating things like medical costs, lost income, property damage expenses, and non-economic damages such as pain and suffering. Here are some of the most significant factors:
Severity of Injuries
One of the most important factors in determining a settlement amount is the severity of the injuries suffered by the victim. More severe injuries requiring extensive medical treatment, hospitalization, surgery, rehabilitation, disabilities, or permanent impairments/disfigurements may substantially increase the potential settlement value.
Some examples of high-value injuries include:
- Traumatic brain injuries (TBI): These can affect memory, cognition, behavior, and physical abilities.
- Spinal cord injuries causing paralysis: Depending on the severity, this can lead to complete or partial loss of function in limbs and other bodily functions.
- Amputations: Loss of a limb can significantly impact mobility and require prosthetics and ongoing rehabilitation.
- Severe burns: These can cause extensive scarring, pain, and loss of function, often requiring skin grafts and lengthy recovery.
- Internal organ damage: Depending on the organ affected, this can lead to permanent dysfunction and require ongoing medical management.
More moderate injuries like broken bones, whiplash, herniated discs, and soft tissue damage may also impact your settlement, just usually not to the same degree as catastrophic injuries.
Total Medical Costs
Your lawyer will factor all related medical expenses stemming from the accident into your settlement demand.
This includes:
- Ambulance rides and emergency room treatment: Include the cost of transportation to the hospital by ambulance, as well as any emergency room fees, medications, and tests performed during your initial treatment.
- Doctor and surgeon fees: This includes consultations, surgery costs, and any follow-up appointments with specialists involved in your care.
- Hospital stays: This covers the room charges, nursing care, medications, and any procedures performed during your hospitalization.
- Tests and scans: Include the cost of X-rays, MRIs, CT scans, ultrasounds, blood tests, and any other diagnostic tests needed to determine the extent of your injuries.
- Medications: This covers both prescription medications and any over-the-counter medications you need to take as part of your treatment.
- Medical equipment you need to recover: This includes crutches, wheelchairs, braces, casts, slings, or any other assistive devices necessary for your recovery.
To support this part of your claim, you need evidence like medical records, bills, and expert opinions on the cost of your future needs.
Lost Wages/Earnings Capacity
You may recover lost income as part of a settlement if your injuries forced you to miss work or limit your ability to earn a living. Some factors that come into play include how much work you missed, whether the injuries are permanent or disabling, and how much your future earnings before the injury.
Property Damage Costs
The settlement amount should also include compensation for any vehicle damage/repairs related to the accident, as well as personal property inside the vehicle that was damaged or destroyed.
Let’s take a closer look.
- Vehicle damage/repairs: This covers the cost of repairing your car to its pre-accident condition. It may include repairs to dents, scratches, broken windows, malfunctioning parts, and the replacement of totaled vehicles.
- Towing and storage: The cost of towing your car from the accident scene to a repair shop or storage facility can be included. Daily storage fees while the repairs are underway may also be recoverable.
- Rental car: If your car is undrivable while it's being repaired, the at-fault party's insurance company may cover the cost of renting a replacement vehicle.
- Personal property damage: This includes any belongings inside your car that were damaged or destroyed in the accident.
To claim compensation for damaged personal property, you'll need proof of ownership and the value of the items. Receipts, purchase confirmations, or appraisals can help establish value.
Non-Economic Damages
Non-economic damages are compensation for the intangible losses you experience due to an injury. Unlike the damages above, which tend to have a clear dollar value, non-economic damages are subjective and often harder to quantify.
These damages aim to make you whole again for your pain and suffering.
They may include:
- Physical pain from your injuries
- Emotional distress or mental anguish
- Loss of enjoyment of life due to your limitations
- Disfigurement caused by the injury
- Loss of consortium for spouses who experience a loss of intimacy due to the injury
There's no set formula for calculating non-economic damages. They are typically determined through negotiations, considering the severity of your injury and its impact on your life. These damages are especially important in serious cases with lasting effects.
How is a Car Accident Settlement Paid Out?
Car accident settlements can be paid out as a lump sum or a structured settlement with regular payments. Once you sign the settlement release form, your check will be deposited into a legal trust account, with legal costs deducted, before the remaining amount is distributed to you.
Choosing the lump sum vs. structured settlement option is a matter of personal preference because you don’t pay taxes on the damages you receive either way.
So, what happens when you agree to a settlement?
- Release Form – You’ll need to sign a release form. This is an agreement that you absolve the auto insurance firm and their driver from future responsibility. Essentially, you waive your right to claim any further compensation.
- The Check – The check will be made out to you and your attorney.
- The Deposit – Next, the check will be sent out to your attorney. It will then be deposited into a designated legal trust account.
- Deductions – Before you receive your settlement, your attorney will deduct their costs. You may also have liens against your check, meaning your insurer or a medical provider might make deductions.
- Receipt – Finally, whatever is left will be paid out to you. You’re entitled to use your settlement in whatever way you wish.
The insurer is required to sign and send your settlement check in good order. On average, you can expect it to take anywhere from four to six weeks from the date you signed the release form. If your insurer doesn’t act, you may have a case for filing a bad faith lawsuit against the insurer.
How Do You Know If You Have a Case?
Successful auto accident cases have three things in common: the other driver was negligent, you were injured, and you suffered losses due to their negligence. Your lawyer will analyze whether these two things are true before filing a personal injury lawsuit.
Let’s go further into these three factors:
- Negligence – The responsible party must have been negligent in their actions or inactions. For example, if a driver ran a red light and hit a pedestrian, this would be an example of negligence.
- Injury – There must be some form of personal injury to file a case. If a driver ran a stop sign, crashed into you, and broke your leg, you would have an injury.
- Damages – Are there any legally recognizable damages? If you broke your leg, you’d have obvious medical bills, lost wages, and pain and suffering damages that could form part of your claim.
Note that your lawyer can decide whether to act on your behalf. If you’re trying to claim because you had a near miss and experienced emotional trauma, it’s unlikely that you’d have a case.
Likewise, suppose your injuries and damages were “low-value,” meaning your case wouldn’t amount to more than a few hundred dollars. In that case, it’s simply not worth filing a personal injury lawsuit because your insurance deductible might be higher than the potential settlement is worth.
The best way to find out if you have a case is to approach a car accident attorney. They’ll provide a free consultation, where they’ll investigate your case.
What Injuries Pay the Most?
Settlement values increase according to the severity of the injury and the impact it has on your life. The biggest damages arise from car accident injuries that lead to death or disability because these are where the greatest economic and non-economic losses lie.
The Brain Injury Association of America reports that a mild to moderate traumatic brain injury could result in a settlement in the low six-figure range. However, severe brain injuries often lead to settlements worth millions.
For example, the largest-ever auto accident settlement occurred in 1993. When a drunk driver hit the Anderson Family in their Chevy Malibu, the fuel tank exploded and caught fire, leaving all six family members severely burned. The family sued, and they were eventually awarded $107.6 million in compensation and $4.8 billion for punitive damages. General Motors appealed to the Superior Court, but the settlement amount was still finalized at $1.2 billion.
In short, there’s no upper limit regarding what a car accident settlement could be worth.
How Long Does It Take to Settle a Car Accident Claim in Texas?
Typical car accident settlement times range from a few weeks in cases of clear-cut negligence and damages. Contentious cases that reach court trials can take one to three years, with high-value cases taking longer with appeals.
Like determining value, estimating how long your personal injury lawsuit will take to settle depends entirely on the circumstances.
For example, most insurers don’t want to go to court for a low-value claim. Instead, they’ll likely settle out of court. However, multi-million-dollar cases often result in court, especially if negligence is disputed.
Your personal injury lawyer can provide you with a rough estimate as to how long you can expect it to take for your claim to settle.
What Laws Should you know about Your Texas Car Accident Settlement?
Different states have different laws regarding things like statutes of limitations, damage caps, contributory negligence rules, and other factors that can impact settlement values. The details of liability and who was at-fault in causing the accident obviously matter as well.
Here are some points to consider:
- Statutes of Limitations: Each state has a specific time limit within which you must file a personal injury lawsuit. Missing this deadline can prevent you from recovering compensation, so it's crucial to be aware of the statute of limitations in your state.
- Damage Caps: Some states have laws that limit the amount of damages (especially non-economic damages like pain and suffering) that can be awarded in certain types of cases. These caps can significantly impact the potential settlement value of your claim.
- Contributory Negligence Rules: States follow different rules when it comes to how a victim's own negligence affects their ability to recover compensation. Some states follow a pure contributory negligence rule, where any fault on the part of the victim bars them from recovery, while others have a pure comparative fault rule or a modified comparative fault rule that allows for reduced compensation based on the victim's percentage of fault.
- Liability Determination: The specific circumstances of the accident, including who was at fault and to what degree, will play a significant role in determining liability and potential settlement amounts. Thorough investigation and evidence gathering are crucial to establish liability and strengthen your case.
- Insurance Laws: Each state has its own insurance laws and regulations that can impact the claims process, such as minimum coverage requirements, bad faith laws, and the role of the insurance adjuster in settlement negotiations.
- Venue Rules: Depending on where the accident occurred and where the parties involved reside, venue rules dictate which court has jurisdiction over the case, which can impact the legal precedents and typical award amounts in that jurisdiction.
Consult an experienced personal injury attorney in your state who can guide you through the specific laws and regulations that apply to your case. They can protect your rights and recover fair compensation for your injuries and losses.
Car Accident Settlement FAQs
What is the longest a car accident settlement can take?
There’s no upper limit on how long a car accident settlement can take to resolve. Some personal injury lawsuits have taken many years to resolve. Remember, if your case goes to trial and the other party appeals, you’ll need to go through the car accident settlement process via an appeal before you see a cent from your settlement check.
How much does a car accident lawyer get from a car accident settlement in Texas?
Personal injury lawyers usually work on a no-win, no-fee basis, meaning if you don’t win, you don’t have to pay legal fees. Typically, contingency fees for lawyers in Texas range from 33% to 40% of the average settlement. Speak to your lawyer to understand their fee structure before hiring.
Additionally, it’s crucial to understand that even though these contingency fees sound immense, the value a lawyer brings to a settlement more than pays for your legal costs. It’s always a net positive to hire a lawyer over attempting to fight your case yourself.
How long after a car accident can you file a claim?
Every state sets its own rules regarding the statute of limitations on car accident claims. For example, Texas has a two-year statute of limitations, which comes into force from the day of your accident.
Failing to file your case before the statute of limitations expires means you don’t have any right to file a lawsuit. However, the statute of limitations only applies to filing a lawsuit. It doesn’t mandate that your legal action be completed within this timeframe.
