- Car accident settlements depend on the circumstances of the crash and the value of your losses.
- More serious accidents involving severe injuries tend to result in higher settlements.
- In New York, a victim’s injuries must be severe for the person to file a lawsuit against the at-fault party.
A car accident can leave you with significant injuries, mounting bills, and worries about how you’ll keep up. It’s normal to wonder how much money you can get from a car accident, but every case is different.
There is no such thing as a typical car accident settlement. However, common factors impacting the total settlement value appear in most accident cases. At Chopra & Nocerino, our car accident lawyers use the same factors that insurance adjusters consider to accurately value your claim.
Factors Influencing Car Accident Settlement Amounts
Accident settlements primarily consist of compensatory damages, or money you receive for injury-related losses. These losses may be monetary, such as medical bills, or non-monetary, such as pain and suffering.
Because your compensation connects directly to your injuries and other losses, your settlement will depend on the circumstances of the accident and the damages it causes. Contributing elements include:
- Injury-related expenses: You can claim compensation for any out-of-pocket injury costs, including treatment, physical therapy, and other rehabilitation expenses. In-home health care also falls into this category, as does any past or anticipated lost income related to your accident.
- Length of recovery: A prolonged recovery typically means higher medical costs, more lost income, and greater pain and suffering. You’ll want to have documentation from a qualified medical professional detailing your diagnosis, treatment plan, and anticipated recovery timeline. The more information you can share about your financial needs, the better your chances of maximizing compensation.
- Pre-existing car defects: Your property damage claim will depend partially on the value of your car. Any recorded defects or prior damage may limit how much you can receive. For example, if the insurance adjuster determines that your car is a total loss, your compensation depends on the car’s value. Damage may make that value less than you expect.
- Insurance coverage: New York insurance law requires all drivers to carry Personal Injury Protection, or PIP, which covers injury costs up to $50,000 per person, with specific maximums and limitations for certain expenses. In most accident cases, except for serious injuries, you can only recover up to your policy limit.
- Other drivers’ actions: If another party is responsible for the accident, you may be able to file a lawsuit or a claim against their insurance company.
New York follows a no-fault insurance system, which means your insurance is the first to pay for any accident-related injuries, regardless of whether you were at fault. You can only file a lawsuit against an at-fault driver if your injuries meet New York’s serious injury threshold.
What Qualifies as a Serious Injury in New York?
The state defines an injury as serious if it results in:
- Death
- Dismemberment
- Severe disfigurement
- Bone fracture
- Pregnancy loss
- Loss of a body part or system
- Significant loss or limitation of function
Injuries may also count as serious if they prevent you from performing your normal daily activities for at least half of the 180 days after the accident. You can consult an attorney if you’re not sure whether your injuries qualify.
Examples of Settlements for Auto Accident Injuries
The average settlement for a New York car accident can vary widely, given the number of factors involved. Our experienced car accident lawyers have secured substantial settlements for victims with catastrophic injuries:
- $3.65 Million Settlement for our client who had a single-level fusion spine surgery from a chain-reaction rear-end car accident.
- $1.2 Million Settlement for a 33-year-old male who was driving through an intersection when his vehicle was struck by a City of New York Department of Sanitation salt spreader.
- $400k Settlement for a woman whose car struck a missing manhole cover in New York City. This case required proving prior written notice, a crucial legal hurdle in claims against the City.
These catastrophic injury settlements include funds to cover ongoing expenses, such as future medical care and loss of quality of life.
Most claimants get much less money from a minor car accident, but those funds can still have a positive impact. They can help you pay for medical bills and lost wages, which are generally the most critical losses in smaller-scale accidents.
Beware of Car Accident Settlement Calculators
Instead of looking for a typical car accident settlement, many injury victims turn to online “calculators” to determine the value of their case. These tools may claim to give you a general estimate of what you can recover, but there are too many factors in play for these to be accurate estimates of how much money you can get for a car accident in New York.
Contact an Attorney To Learn the Value of Your Car Accident Injury Claim
The most reliable way to determine how much your claim is worth is to consult with a personal injury attorney. Chopra & Nocerino is a no-nonsense firm that will get straight to business—no sugar coating, just raw truth about your claim and its potential.
Our attorneys are real New Yorkers who stop at nothing to defend our clients’ rights. Contact us online or call (855) NYC-HURT today for a free consultation.
