Car Accident Settlement Calculator

Live specials-vs-generals stack so a multiplier sketch never pretends to be a courtroom verdict or an insurer’s check.

Educational damages sketch only. Not legal advice, not a case valuation, not a demand letter. Jurisdiction, evidence, and counsel matter. Read our disclaimers.

By Ahmet C. Toplutaş·Site owner & editor · Finance tools

Last updated May 21, 2026 · Reviewed May 21, 2026 · Planning estimates only - not tax, medical, or investment advice

Specials vs generals

Settlement literacy often starts with two buckets. Specials (economic damages) are the receipts: medical bills, lost wages, and property damage. Generals (non-economic) sketch pain and suffering. Teaching tools often estimate generals with a multiplier on medical costs by injury severity. That chart is a classroom pattern, not a statute.

This page’s framing is specials vs generals, then a fault haircut and a policy-cap clamp. The negotiate band is a wide educational range around the clamped mid, not an insurer’s obligation.

It is not legal advice, not a case valuation, and not a substitute for counsel in your jurisdiction. See our disclaimers.

Decision framing: “Am I looking at documented economic specials, or at an illustrative generals multiplier that real records still have to support?”

The fault haircut

Comparative negligence sketches reduce recoverable damages by your fault share. Recovery share here is (100 − your fault). The panel shows pre-fault stack next to after-fault dollars so a 20% fault entry is visible as a haircut, not a hidden spreadsheet cell.

States disagree on rules: pure comparative, modified comparative thresholds, or contributory negligence that can bar recovery. This tool does not encode your state’s doctrine. Load Shared fault and watch only the haircut move.

Keep medical and severity fixed. Raise your fault from 0% to 20%. Watch after-fault fall while specials vs generals stay in view. That is the product.

The policy-cap clamp

Liability policies have limits. If the after-fault sketch exceeds the limit you enter, the mid figure clamps and the panel shows the uncapped gap. That is how “the math says more” and “the policy pays up to X” can both be true in a teaching story.

UM/UIM, multiple defendants, and excess coverage are outside this sketch. Use Policy pressure to see the clamp light up without pretending those other layers exist.

Contingency fee peel (not a boost myth)

Older calculators sometimes multiplied “with lawyer” by 1.25 as if representation automatically raises the offer. This page does not. The contingency peel only estimates what you might keep after a fee percent on the mid sketch.

Whether counsel changes case value is fact-specific. Fee contracts, costs, and medical liens also matter. Treat the peel as wallet literacy, not a prediction of gross offer size.

What the panel actually computes

Specials sum your economic inputs. Generals use a severity multiplier on medical (with a longer-recovery bump). Fault reduces the stack. Policy limit clamps the mid. The band is a wide educational range. Fee peel subtracts contingency from mid.

specials = medical + wages + property generals = medical × severity_multiplier (×1.5 if recovery > 365 days) pre_fault = specials + generals after_fault = pre_fault × (100 − your_fault) / 100 mid = min(after_fault, policy_limit) band ≈ 0.7×mid … 1.3×mid (clamped to limit) after_fee = mid × (1 − contingency%)

Multipliers are illustrative classroom values (about 1.5 to 8). Courts and adjusters do not owe you those numbers.

Where this hands off

After damages vocabulary, hand off for premium/coverage literacy, car budget math, or formal legal help directories.

Coverage cost sketches: car insurance calculator
Payment affordability: car affordability
Site legal boundaries: disclaimers
Find legal help: USA.gov legal aid

Worked scenarios

Scenario A: Rear-end. Moderate severity, zero your fault, mid policy limit. Specials and generals both matter; mid usually sits under the limit. Use as a calm vocabulary walkthrough.

Flip to Shared fault without changing medical. Watch the haircut and mid fall while the specials vs generals stack stays readable.

Scenario B: Soft tissue. Minor multiplier, smaller specials. Generals stay modest. Good for seeing how severity chips change only the generals column.

Scenario C: Shared fault. 20% your fault. Recovery share 80%. The haircut is the teaching beat, not a state-law oracle.

Scenario D: Policy pressure. Severe injury and longer recovery push uncapped above a $100k limit. Cap clamp and gap appear. Mid equals the limit you entered, not the uncapped stack.

Common mistakes

Treating a website mid number as what an insurer must pay.
Confusing “your fault %” with “other driver’s fault %” (this panel uses your fault).
Assuming every state uses the same comparative negligence rule.
Ignoring policy limits, then being surprised when the clamp binds.
Believing a contingency fee peel means counsel automatically raises gross offers.
Skipping medical documentation and relying on multiplier folklore alone.
Signing releases or declining counsel based only on this sketch.

How to use this panel

Load a scene preset or enter medical, wages, property, and recovery days.
Pick a severity chip (illustrative multiplier only).
Set your fault %, policy limit, and optional contingency fee %.
Read specials vs generals, fault haircut, policy-cap clamp, and the negotiate band.
Share when you want URL state. Typing does not rewrite the address bar. Then talk to a professional about real facts.

When not to stop at this sketch

Stop here for vocabulary and structure literacy. Hand off for insurance cost sketches, site legal boundaries, or real legal help.

Premium literacy: car insurance.
Site limits: disclaimers.
Legal aid directories: USA.gov.

Frequently asked questions

Is this legal advice or a real case valuation?

No. It is an educational damages sketch using common teaching patterns (economic specials plus a pain-and-suffering multiplier, fault share, and a policy-limit clamp). It is not a demand letter, not a prediction of what an insurer will pay, and not advice for your jurisdiction. Speak with a licensed attorney about your facts.

What are specials vs generals on this panel?

Specials (economic) are medical bills, lost wages, and property damage you enter. Generals (non-economic) are an illustrative pain-and-suffering estimate from a severity multiplier on medical costs, with a longer-recovery bump. Real cases use records, testimony, and local law, not a fixed multiplier chart.

How does the fault haircut work?

Your fault percent is treated as comparative negligence in a simple sketch. Recovery share is (100 − your fault). Pre-fault total is reduced by that share before the policy cap. Rules differ by state (pure comparative, modified comparative, contributory). This panel does not encode your state’s rule.

What does the policy-cap clamp show?

If the after-fault estimate exceeds the at-fault policy limit you enter, the mid figure clamps to that limit and the panel shows the uncapped gap. Other coverage (UM/UIM, multiple policies) is outside this sketch.

Does hiring a lawyer automatically raise the settlement by 25%?

This page does not claim that. The contingency peel only estimates what you might keep after a fee percent on the mid sketch. Whether representation changes offer size is fact-specific and not modeled as a boost multiplier here.

What is the negotiate band?

A wide low-to-high educational range around the mid clamp for discussion literacy. Insurers do not owe you the high end of a website band. Documentation quality, liability disputes, and venue move outcomes far more than this range.

Should I rely on this instead of an attorney or claims adjuster?

No. Use it to learn vocabulary (specials, generals, fault, limits). Decisions about filing, settling, or signing releases need professional advice for your location and facts.

Sources

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Methodology & sources

Our finance calculators use standard formulas and common assumptions. Results are estimates and may differ due to fees, taxes, rounding, and lender/provider policies. Use this for planning—not as a quote.

Core sources

Finance calculators Finance formulas Editorial policy Corrections Contact

Specials vs generals

It is not legal advice, not a case valuation, and not a substitute for counsel in your jurisdiction. See our disclaimers.

Decision framing: “Am I looking at documented economic specials, or at an illustrative generals multiplier that real records still have to support?”

The fault haircut

Keep medical and severity fixed. Raise your fault from 0% to 20%. Watch after-fault fall while specials vs generals stay in view. That is the product.

The policy-cap clamp

UM/UIM, multiple defendants, and excess coverage are outside this sketch. Use Policy pressure to see the clamp light up without pretending those other layers exist.

Contingency fee peel (not a boost myth)

Whether counsel changes case value is fact-specific. Fee contracts, costs, and medical liens also matter. Treat the peel as wallet literacy, not a prediction of gross offer size.

What the panel actually computes

Multipliers are illustrative classroom values (about 1.5 to 8). Courts and adjusters do not owe you those numbers.

Worked scenarios

Scenario A: Rear-end. Moderate severity, zero your fault, mid policy limit. Specials and generals both matter; mid usually sits under the limit. Use as a calm vocabulary walkthrough.

Flip to Shared fault without changing medical. Watch the haircut and mid fall while the specials vs generals stack stays readable.

Scenario B: Soft tissue. Minor multiplier, smaller specials. Generals stay modest. Good for seeing how severity chips change only the generals column.

Scenario C: Shared fault. 20% your fault. Recovery share 80%. The haircut is the teaching beat, not a state-law oracle.

Scenario D: Policy pressure. Severe injury and longer recovery push uncapped above a $100k limit. Cap clamp and gap appear. Mid equals the limit you entered, not the uncapped stack.

Common mistakes

Treating a website mid number as what an insurer must pay.
Confusing “your fault %” with “other driver’s fault %” (this panel uses your fault).
Assuming every state uses the same comparative negligence rule.
Ignoring policy limits, then being surprised when the clamp binds.
Believing a contingency fee peel means counsel automatically raises gross offers.
Skipping medical documentation and relying on multiplier folklore alone.
Signing releases or declining counsel based only on this sketch.

How to use this panel

Load a scene preset or enter medical, wages, property, and recovery days.
Pick a severity chip (illustrative multiplier only).
Set your fault %, policy limit, and optional contingency fee %.
Read specials vs generals, fault haircut, policy-cap clamp, and the negotiate band.
Share when you want URL state. Typing does not rewrite the address bar. Then talk to a professional about real facts.

Frequently asked questions

Is this legal advice or a real case valuation?

What are specials vs generals on this panel?

How does the fault haircut work?

What does the policy-cap clamp show?

Does hiring a lawyer automatically raise the settlement by 25%?

What is the negotiate band?

Should I rely on this instead of an attorney or claims adjuster?

No. Use it to learn vocabulary (specials, generals, fault, limits). Decisions about filing, settling, or signing releases need professional advice for your location and facts.

Specials vs generals

The fault haircut

The policy-cap clamp

Contingency fee peel (not a boost myth)

What the panel actually computes

Where this hands off

Worked scenarios

Common mistakes

How to use this panel

When not to stop at this sketch

Frequently asked questions

Is this legal advice or a real case valuation?

What are specials vs generals on this panel?

How does the fault haircut work?

What does the policy-cap clamp show?

Does hiring a lawyer automatically raise the settlement by 25%?

What is the negotiate band?

Should I rely on this instead of an attorney or claims adjuster?

Sources

Methodology & sources

Specials vs generals

The fault haircut

The policy-cap clamp

Contingency fee peel (not a boost myth)

What the panel actually computes

Where this hands off

Worked scenarios

Common mistakes

How to use this panel

When not to stop at this sketch

Frequently asked questions

Is this legal advice or a real case valuation?

What are specials vs generals on this panel?

How does the fault haircut work?

What does the policy-cap clamp show?

Does hiring a lawyer automatically raise the settlement by 25%?

What is the negotiate band?

Should I rely on this instead of an attorney or claims adjuster?

Sources

What this number means

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