People often wonder how much they stand to gain from a personal injury claim or lawsuit. But the fact is, there is no possible way to put forth a formula and tell you what you will receive if you win – there are simply too many variables. However, we can look at general data to get a feel for the personal injury claim statistics that give us a feel for which cases are most successful. The following statistics are taken from Martindale-Nolo Research.

Quick Personal Injury Stats

30% of survey participants received nothing from their personal injury claims or lawsuits.
68% of respondents who received personal injury settlements pocketed between $3,000 and $75,000.
The average settlement across all awards was $52,900.
4% of personal injury claims ended up going to trial. The vast majority of claims are settled out of court.
Representation makes a huge difference. Those who enlisted the expertise of a personal injury lawyer saw average awards which were $60,000 more than those without an attorney.
Those with representation typically received 3x the amount of others who sustained similar injuries but proceeded on their own.
91% of those who hired a lawyer received compensation, compared to 51% of those who did not hire an attorney.
30% of respondents accepted the first offer from the insurance company.
Those who accepted the first offer from the insurance company averaged $31,000 less than those who negotiated the offer.
Just over half of respondents settled their personal injury claims without filing a lawsuit )or threatening to file a lawsuit.)
Those who did file a lawsuit were more likely to receive a payout (81%, as compared to 67% of those who did not.) Compensation for those who filed or threatened to file was twice as much those who did not do either of these things.

General Facts Which Affect Settlements

Nature of the Injury: The severity of your injury – and how much your injury has affected your quality of life – will have a major impact on the amount of your claim and award. Typically, the more serious the injuries, the higher the settlement.

Insurance policy limits: Your insurance policy may place an upper limit on the amount you can recover via a personal injury claim. Even if your injuries might merit more compensation, the terms of your policy may limit available damages.

Filing Lawsuits: Although most claims are settled out of court, filing a lawsuit greatly increases your chances of a larger payout than not doing so. Most filed lawsuits are resolved without a trial but the action of filing does seem to work in an individual’s favor. Your personal injury attorney can inform you as to the best strategy based upon the offers you are receiving and precedents set by similar cases and payouts.

Personal Injury Claim Statistics – Takeaways

The data shows what you may have suspected – the insurance companies are not offering top dollar when they deal with unrepresented individuals. Hiring a Sarasota or Tampa personal injury attorney to represent you is a great first step – they can negotiate on your behalf, assess the offers you are receiving, and take the matter to court if you are not getting satisfactory results. If you are considering hiring an attorney, it is best do so before speaking with any insurance companies or the other party’s attorney. However, no matter where you are at in the process, call Probinsky & Cole if you need assistance. We are here to help you get the compensation you deserve.