What Is the Average Settlement For a Personal Injury?
Perenich, Caulfield, Avril & Noyes Personal Injury Lawyers | Personal Injury

If you have been injured due to the negligence or wrongdoing of someone else, you have the legal right to seek compensation for your losses through a personal injury claim. As you face medical bills, lost earnings, and other expenses, you may be wondering, what is your case worth?
Many accident victims ask about the average settlement for a personal injury or the average payout for their type of accident or injury. Here’s a look at average settlements and jury verdicts and why you shouldn’t rely on these figures to estimate the value of your own case.
Most Personal Injury Cases End In A Settlement
About 96% of personal injury lawsuits end in an out-of-court settlement, not a verdict. Most personal injury cases are filed in state courts, but federal personal injury cases are even less likely to go to court. Even after a lawsuit is filed, negotiations will likely continue.
Unlike jury awards, settlements are not public records. Some even involve confidentiality agreements. Only the individuals involved, including their attorneys, are aware of the details of the settlement and the payout amount. This means it isn’t possible to give accurate statistics about average settlement amounts.
A case that proceeds to a jury trial may or may not be successful, even if a settlement was offered. Sometimes, a jury will award more than an insurance company or defendant is willing to offer as a settlement. However, a trial is much more expensive and time-consuming. It also introduces more risk as juries can be unpredictable.
How Many Cases Are Successful?
Plaintiffs, or the injured parties filing the lawsuit, are successful in 51% of personal injury lawsuits that go before a jury, according to the Bureau of Justice Statistics. While 51% of personal injury lawsuits are successful, certain types of cases are more likely to win. Here are plaintiff success rates by case type:
- Dog bites and other animal attacks: 75%
- Motor vehicle accidents: 64%
- Asbestos-related product liability: 55%
- Intentional torts: 52%
- Premises liability: 38%
- Medical malpractice: 23%
- Other types of product liability: 20%
Dog bite cases have a high rate of success due to Florida’s strict liability law for dog owners. Lawsuits involving car accidents, motorcycle crashes, and other collisions are some of the most likely types of cases to win in court. In cases involving assault and other forms of intentional tort, plaintiffs win in one out of every two cases.
Cases involving medical malpractice, defective products, and premises liability (such as slip and fall accidents) have the lowest success rates for injury victims. These cases are notoriously complex to prove.
Average Personal Injury Settlements
Two-thirds of survey respondents received a settlement or payout, with an average payout of $52,900. Only 15% of people received more than $75,000. Just over half of respondents received $3,000 to $25,000.
The average settlement was $77,600 for people who hired a personal injury lawyer and $17,600 for people who did not have legal representation.
About 70% of respondents negotiated and waited to receive a higher offer, recovering an average settlement of $42,500. The remaining 30% of respondents accepted the first offer and received $11,800.
Over half of the respondents settled their case without filing a personal injury lawsuit or notifying the defendant they were prepared to sue. These respondents received an average payout of $45,500. The remaining people who did not file a lawsuit or threaten to received $23,000 on average.
Average Personal Injury Awards In Court
According to the 2005 Civil Justice Survey of State Courts, the median personal injury damage award in trial was $24,000, with over 60% of plaintiffs receiving $50,000 or less, including economic, non-economic, and punitive damages.
Here are the median awards by case type:
- Motor vehicle accidents: $15,000
- Dog bites/animal attacks: $21,000
- Intentional tort: $38,000
- Premises liability: $98,000
- Medical malpractice: $400,000
- Non-asbestos product liability: $500,000
- Asbestos product liability: $682,000
In total, 33% of plaintiffs received less than $10,000, 31% received $10,000 to $50,000, and 21% recovered $50,001 to $250,000. Only 5% were awarded over $1 million.
Traffic accidents accounted for over 40% of plaintiff-won cases, with nearly 40% of those resulting in awards of $10,000 or less. While medical malpractice has one of the lowest success rates for plaintiffs, its median awards were 17 times higher than the overall median, with about two-thirds involving wrongful death.
Contact an Experienced Personal Injury Lawyer For Help
The most important takeaway from these statistics is that hiring a personal injury lawyer and being prepared to go to court if necessary is crucial to maximizing your recovery. An experienced personal injury attorney can help you understand what your case is worth, accurately value your damages, and negotiate on your behalf for fair compensation.
If you have been seriously hurt in an accident, Perenich, Caulfield, Avril & Noyes Personal Injury Lawyers is here to help you. Call our law office for a free consultation with a Clearwater personal injury lawyer. We will help you understand your legal options and fight for the compensation you deserve.
Contact the Pinellas County Personal Injury Law Firm Of Perenich, Caulfield, Avril & Noyes Personal Injury Lawyers for Help
For more information, please contact the Clearwater and St. Petersburg personal injury law firm of Perenich, Caulfield, Avril & Noyes Personal Injury Lawyers at the nearest location to schedule a free consultation today.
We serve Pinellas County and its surrounding areas:
Perenich, Caulfield, Avril & Noyes Personal Injury Lawyers – Clearwater
1875 N Belcher Rd. STE 201,
Clearwater, FL 33765
(727) 796-8282
Perenich, Caulfield, Avril & Noyes Personal Injury Lawyers – St. Petersburg
2560 1st Ave S,
St. Petersburg, FL 33712
(727) 349-1728