Use this free personal injury calculator to build a planning estimate for bodily injury, soft tissue, whiplash, back injury, dog bite or PTSD-related claims, then learn which records, deadlines and state rules may affect it.
Start with the facts
This educational tool does not promise a payout. It helps you organize the factors commonly reviewed in a personal injury claim.
Fill in the details for a personalized personal injury estimate
How this estimate is produced: the calculator adds your costs, applies fixed weights for claim type, severity and liability strength, and shows a wide range. Those weights are modeling assumptions chosen by our editorial team for illustration. They are not statistics, not averages from real cases and not a statement of any state's law, and your state selection is not used to apply state-specific rules. For that, see the state guides.
Many personal injury attorneys work on contingency, and fee terms vary, so ask for them in writing. A licensed attorney can review your records and any offer before you respond.
Learn When You Need an Attorney →Each claim type has different legal standards, evidence needs and value drivers.
Injuries on someone else's property due to hazardous conditions like wet floors or poor lighting.
Injuries caused by a healthcare provider's negligence, misdiagnosis, or surgical errors.
Injuries caused by defective or dangerous products including appliances, vehicles, or drugs.
Injuries from dog attacks. Liability rules vary by state, and many states have dog bite statutes.
Claims filed by surviving family members when negligence causes a loved one's death.
Injuries on commercial or residential property due to owner negligence beyond slip and fall.
The formula used by attorneys and insurers.
Add all medical bills (past + future), lost wages, property damage, and other out-of-pocket costs.
Apply a multiplier you choose to estimate pain & suffering, based on severity and impact on your life. No official multiplier exists.
Strong, clear liability can increase the multiplier. Disputed liability decreases it significantly.
The defendant's insurance policy limits cap the payout unless they have significant personal assets.
Offers and counteroffers follow. Many claims settle before trial, and documentation plus legal advice help you judge an offer.
How long you have to file a personal injury lawsuit — deadlines and fault rules vary by state.
How claims are valued, what multipliers apply, and what you need to know before talking to an insurer
Personal injury settlements are built from two categories of damages: economic (quantifiable financial losses) and non-economic (pain, suffering, and quality of life). Many insurers and attorneys use a multiplier method as a negotiating shortcut to estimate total compensation. The method is a convention, not a legal rule. Read our full guide to how settlements are calculated.
Economic damages are the measurable financial losses caused by your injury. They include medical bills (past and future), lost wages during recovery, loss of future earning capacity if the injury causes long-term impairment, property damage, and out-of-pocket expenses like transportation to medical appointments or home modification costs for disability.
Non-economic damages — pain and suffering, emotional distress, loss of enjoyment of life — are often discussed by multiplying economic damages by a chosen multiplier. Minor injuries with full recovery are generally discussed with lower multipliers than severe or permanent injuries, but no statute or court prescribes a number, and insurers rely on their own software and judgment.
Hypothetical example with invented numbers: 25,000 in medical bills and lost wages multiplied by a chosen multiplier of 3 gives 75,000 in non-economic damages, or a total of 100,000 before fault adjustments, liens and attorney fees. This is arithmetic, not a prediction.
Most states use comparative fault rules, which reduce your settlement based on your percentage of fault for the accident. In pure comparative fault states (like California and New York), you can recover damages even if you're 99% at fault — but your award is reduced proportionally. In modified comparative fault states (like Texas and Illinois), you cannot recover if you're found 51% or more at fault. In a handful of states, any contributory negligence can bar recovery entirely.
Settlement values vary enormously with the type and severity of injury, your state's rules and the strength of the liability evidence. We do not publish average dollar figures because they blend very different cases and could mislead you. The notes below describe what tends to move value instead.
Value usually turns on the severity of the injury, how long the hazard existed and whether the owner knew about it. Shared fault can reduce the result. See the slip and fall guide.
Cases typically require expert testimony on the standard of care and causation, and they can be costly and slow. Some states limit certain damages or add pre-suit steps. See the malpractice guide.
Liability rules vary by state, and homeowner's or renter's insurance is often the source of payment. Scarring and emotional impact can be central. See the dog bite guide.
Value depends on injury severity and how clearly a defect can be shown. Preserving the product matters, and some states have outer time limits measured from the date of sale.
State law decides who may sue and which losses count, often including funeral costs, lost financial support and loss of companionship. Some states limit certain damages.
Value depends heavily on documented medical treatment, missed work, how clearly liability can be established and the insurance available.
Some of the most searched injury categories have no visible wound, which makes documentation especially important. A soft tissue injury such as a sprain or strain, including whiplash, is typically proved through prompt medical evaluation, consistent treatment and notes about how symptoms limit daily activities. A back injury claim often depends on the diagnosis, imaging, whether treatment such as therapy or injections was needed, and whether a provider documents lasting limits.
A bodily injury claim is simply a claim for physical harm to a person, as opposed to property damage, and bodily injury liability coverage is the part of an at-fault party's policy that responds to such claims. PTSD and other emotional distress can be part of non-economic damages when a qualified professional diagnoses and treats them, but insurers often scrutinize these claims closely. For all of these categories, the calculator above can help you organize costs, while the guides below explain what an insurer or attorney will want to see.
Next: read the evidence checklist, see claim types and what drives value, and learn when an early offer is premature.
Every state imposes a deadline — called the statute of limitations — for filing a personal injury lawsuit. If you miss it, you can permanently lose the right to sue, however strong your case. Most states allow somewhere between 2 and 3 years from the date of injury, while a few allow as little as 1 year and a few as many as 6. Our 50-state table lists the general period for each state with the statute cited.
Exceptions exist: the clock may start when an injury was discovered, many states pause it while the injured person is a minor, and claims against government bodies often carry notice deadlines far shorter than the general period, sometimes only months. Rules differ by state and change, so confirm the deadline for your claim with a licensed attorney.
The bottom line: Never delay consulting an attorney after a personal injury. Even if you're not sure you have a case, a free consultation can tell you whether your claim is viable and how much time you have left to act.
Plain-English articles from the InjuryCalc.org Editorial Team, last reviewed October 2026. See all guides.
Injury