What Is the Average Settlement for a Car Accident with Injury

Getting into a car accident is devastating. Your vehicle is damaged and left you with injuries. The financial stress that these outcomes have can be crippling. When you reach out to a car accident lawyer, you want to get properly compensated with a settlement. In which case, you might be wondering how much you can be entitled to for your settlement.

Learn the average settlement to know what you can expect to receive from it.

What Affects Car Accident Settlements

Not all car accidents happen in the same way. Damages to your vehicle, the injuries accrued, and the circumstances leading to the accident all influence the cost of settlements.

The Reason

For the driver who injured you in the accident, it's important to understand what led to the accident in the first place. Depending on the circumstance, it can potentially dictate how much you can get out of a settlement. Mostly, car accidents fall under negligence if you pursue legal action after a car accident. Namely, there are the forms of negligence in car accidents:

• Driving under the influence (i.e. drinking alcohol while driving)
• Distracted driving (i.e. texting and driving)
• Violating traffic laws (i.e. speeding, disobeying traffic signals, illegal turns, etc.)

The Injury

If you sustain certain injuries from your car accident, you can bet that the severity can influence how much you will get for a settlement. Here are a few listed injuries commonly associated with car accidents:

• Chronic pain
• Mental health issues (i.e. depression & anxiety)
• Whiplash
• Back & neck injuries
• Spinal cord injuries
• Paralysis
• Internal organ damage
• Disfigurement or dismemberment

An injury is considered severe enough to impact the person's daily life or even become a life-long issue. These will naturally be compensated higher to make up for it.

The Damage

What counts as compensation for damages during a car accident? Various types of damages can amount to the overall cost since they're meant to compensate for any losses from the accident.

• Medical bills: These are medical bills accrued due to your accident. Examples of these would be any necessary surgeries or medications for your injury. Plus, ongoing recovery costs such as physiotherapy. If the accident left a mental scar, therapy costs are also compensated.
• Lost wages: After going through a car accident, it may leave you immobile and unable to work. As a result, you would lose a bunch of hours and not have enough money to cover your living expenses. Accidents are quite the financial blow, so settlements help with that.
• Pain & suffering: In some cases, car accidents can result in people having to grapple with pain every day. In turn, it completely disrupts the former life. In which case, they now have to find ways to cope suddenly.
• Emotional distress: Going through a car accident can be a traumatic experience. It can leave someone's mental state to be shaken. In turn, it could even lead to someone having to deal with mental health issues, which will impact the quality of their life.
• Property damage: The damage in question is no doubt your car. If your vehicle totaled in the accident, you could expect the severity of the damage to cover costs of repair or replacement.

The Expected Amount for Settlements

As much as it's good to be mindful of the factors influencing settlements, it's usually best to have a more tangible number in mind. Without a number to follow, you might get lowballed for compensation. You can avoid that by understanding the average amount people typically get from a car accident settlement. For the most part, you can expect an average of $23,900 for a car accident settlement. However, it's important to note that most received less than $10,000. In this case, you must find a good car accident lawyer to ensure you're compensated on all fronts and demand more of what you need out of a settlement.

Going through a car accident is intense. Depending on the degree of it, it can impact your life in a significant way. You want to ensure you consider the factors that influence your settlement amount, so you can guarantee that you're properly compensated!