Personal Injury Settlement Calculator
Disclaimer: This is a rough illustrative estimate using the "multiplier method", not a legal opinion or guaranteed settlement value. Not legal advice.
The "Multiplier Method" Behind Many Early Settlement Estimates
One common shorthand for estimating a personal injury settlement's general damages — pain, suffering, and other non-economic harm — is the multiplier method: take the total medical expenses and multiply by a factor reflecting injury severity, then add lost wages on top. It's a rough starting point used informally in early settlement conversations, not a formula any court or insurer is bound to, but it's transparent enough to show exactly how severity assumptions drive the final number.
The Formula
Settlement Estimate = General Damages + Lost Wages
The severity multiplier is the variable that does the most work in this formula — a small change in multiplier produces a proportionally identical change in general damages, which is why choosing it thoughtfully matters more than any other input.
| Medical expenses | 1.5x (minor) | 3x (moderate) | 5x (severe) |
|---|---|---|---|
| $5,000 | $7,500 | $15,000 | $25,000 |
| $10,000 | $15,000 | $30,000 | $50,000 |
| $20,000 | $30,000 | $60,000 | $100,000 |
Severity multiplier guide used here: minor injuries roughly 1.5–2x, moderate roughly 2–3x, severe or permanent injuries roughly 3–5x — a common informal convention, not a fixed rule.
Where This Matters
- Early settlement conversations — before formal negotiation, a multiplier-based figure gives claimants a rough sense of scale.
- Sanity-checking an insurer's opening offer — comparing an insurer's number against a multiplier-method estimate can highlight whether an offer looks unusually low relative to documented medical costs.
- Weighing severity assumptions — running the same medical expense figure through a range of multipliers shows how much the severity classification alone swings the estimate.
How to Use This Calculator
- Enter total medical expenses.
- Enter lost wages, if applicable (optional).
- Enter a severity multiplier between 1.5 and 5 (defaults to 3, a moderate-injury assumption).
- Select Calculate for the illustrative settlement estimate.
Related Calculations
Working with a contingency-fee attorney? See the Contingency Fee Calculator for the net amount after fees, or check the Statute of Limitations Calculator for your filing deadline.