ON THIS PAGE
- What Is the Average Car Accident Settlement in New York?
- Types of Damages Available to Car Accident Injury Victims
- What Factors Affect Car Accident Settlement Amounts?
- How Long Does it Take to Settle a Car Accident Claim in New York?
- Types of Injuries Covered by Car Accident Settlements
- What Is the Time Limit to File a Claim After a Car Accident?
- Contact Richmond Vona Personal Injury Attorneys Today
A car accident can change your life in an instant, leaving you with devastating injuries and an uncertain financial future through no fault of your own. While car accident victims can often recover compensation for their injuries, the value and difficulty of each case vary based on the circumstances.
The experienced New York car accident lawyers at Richmond Vona understand the ways an untimely crash can impact your life, including being unable to work, dealing with chronic pain, and mounting medical bills. On this page, our knowledgeable legal team will explain what goes into the average settlement for a car accident.
What Is the Average Car Accident Settlement in New York?
Unfortunately, there is no way to estimate a true “average” car accident settlement, as every case’s value is unique. Payouts can vary drastically based on key factors like the severity of the victim’s injuries, medical costs, how long the crash leaves the victim disabled, and how clear the responsible party’s liability is.
Commercial Trucking Accidents
The best way to get an accurate assessment of your claim’s worth is to consult with an experienced car accident attorney. Your lawyer can analyze the situation surrounding your crash and estimate the value of your damages.
Minor Injuries
Cases involving whiplash, soft tissue damage, minor fractures, and other smaller injuries are typically resolved for a settlement of up to $75,000.
Moderate Injuries
Broken bones, back injuries, and others that require surgery or lengthy treatment can often exceed $100,000 to $200,000 on average.
Severe Injuries
Some back, neck, and traumatic brain injuries (TBI) can cause significant harm to the victim over a long period of time, often leading to settlements of up to $1 million or more. Catastrophic injuries that leave victims with permanent disabilities may lead to multi-million-dollar settlements.
Fatalities
When someone is killed in a car or truck accident because of another driver’s negligence, no amount of money will bring them back to their loved ones. Compensation in wrongful death cases can be substantial, sometimes reaching millions of dollars. However, it can vary greatly depending on the victim’s age and health, the severity of the negligence involved, insurance, and other factors.
Types of Damages Available to Car Accident Injury Victims
Car accident victims can recover compensation for a variety of economic and non-economic damages resulting from their injuries.
Economic Damages
Economic damages compensate for straightforward financial losses resulting from your car accident injuries, including:
- Medical bills
- Lost wages
- Lost future earning potential
- Property damage
Non-Economic Damages
Non-economic damages are intangible losses without an objective monetary value. Examples include impacts to your well-being, such as:
- Pain and suffering
- Emotional distress
- Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
- Loss of enjoyment of life
- Loss of consortium
What Factors Affect Car Accident Settlement Amounts?
Several key factors impact the amount of compensation you can receive in a car accident settlement, including:
- Severity of injuries: How bad your injuries are is the primary factor influencing most of your potential damages, affecting nearly every facet of your case.
- Medical treatment and prognosis: The longer and more intense your necessary treatment is, the more medical bills you’ll rack up. Your long-term health will also influence how much you can recover in future medical costs.
- Lost wages: Missing longer periods of time at work will allow you to recover higher sums to make up for your lost income.
- Insurance coverage: Under New York’s no-fault system, auto insurance coverage pays basic economic losses up to policy limits, but if you meet New York’s serious-injury threshold, you can pursue a liability claim against the at-fault party—still subject to the available bodily-injury limits.
- Pain and suffering: Even if your injuries aren’t physically debilitating, the agony you feel as a result is a recoverable non-economic loss.
- Liability: New York’s pure comparative negligence law reduces your recoverable damages in proportion to any share of blame you have for the car accident.
How Long Does it Take to Settle a Car Accident Claim in New York?
A New York car accident case can take anywhere from a few weeks to more than a year to resolve. Most cases involving minor injuries or clear evidence of liability can quickly reach a car accident settlement, but others with serious injuries can drag out based on the longer timeline for medical recovery, the higher stakes involved for insurers, and other factors.
Disputes over liability can also delay a car accident settlement. While New York is a no-fault state, liability still factors into settlements through comparative negligence, which could reduce the amount a victim is entitled to if they share a percentage of the blame for the crash. Between extensive investigations, drawn-out negotiations, and the possibility of litigation, the process of getting a car accident settlement can drag out for long periods of time.
If negotiations are fruitful and you win a settlement, your case will resolve much faster than one where you’re forced to file a lawsuit. Preparing for and conducting a trial takes many months on average, and settlement negotiations typically continue throughout the process.
Our knowledgeable New York car accident lawyers can estimate the complexity of your case and help you understand what the timeline for securing a settlement could look like.
Types of Injuries Covered by Car Accident Settlements
A wide variety of injuries can make you eligible to recover compensation through a car accident settlement in New York, including:
Whiplash and Soft Tissue Injuries
Whiplash, or the straining of the neck in response to a sudden change in momentum, is one of the most common injuries experienced after a car accident. The impact from a crash can also cause significant bruising or strains to other muscles and joints.
Broken Bones and Fractures
Even the smallest fractures can become serious long-term health problems if left untreated after a car accident. Severe bone breaks can be painful and require a lengthy recovery time.
Back and Neck Injuries
Injuries to the spinal cord can cause anything from severe pain to lifelong disabilities, depending on their intensity.
Traumatic Brain Injuries (TBI)
The blunt force of a hit to the head can harm the brain itself. A mild TBI could lead to a concussion, while severe cases can cause permanent brain damage.
Psychological Injuries
Car accidents can impact injury victims in more ways than physical. The crash, ensuing recovery, intense pain, and dealing with the impacts of your injuries can lead to mental health issues like emotional trauma, PTSD, anxiety, and more.
Fatal Injuries (Wrongful Death)
If a car accident victim dies from their injuries, their family can pursue a settlement through a wrongful death claim.
What Is the Time Limit to File a Claim After a Car Accident?
The New York statute of limitations is three years for most personal injury claims, including car accidents. Some exceptions can extend the timeline: When the victim is a minor, the statute of limitations is paused until they turn 18, then runs for three years (typically making the outside date the 21st birthday). Wrongful-death claims are generally two years from the date of death. Shorter notice deadlines can apply if a municipal entity is involved.
It’s critical to get started on your case immediately after a car or motorcycle accident, even if you believe you only have minor injuries. The impacts of the crash could worsen over time, and if you wait too long, you’ll miss your chance to recover compensation.
Contact Richmond Vona Personal Injury Attorneys Today
With more than 20 years of combined experience protecting injury victims in New York, the trusted car accident lawyers at Richmond Vona have recovered more than $200 million for clients like you. We’re ready to help you secure the settlement you deserve after a traumatic crash. Contact us online or call 716-500-5678 today for a free consultation.
