Legal costs and timelines, in plain numbers. Not a law firm.
Every figure sourced and dated. Updated 2026-09-01.
Updated 2026-09-01 · 11 sourced figures · 9 named sources · every figure checked against its source at publish
Personal injury has a numbers problem: everyone quotes the million-dollar verdicts and nobody quotes the middle. Here is the middle, sourced: the median auto-accident injury settlement is $31,000, soft-tissue claims average $12,000, and represented claimants average $77,600. Nearly all injury lawyers work on contingency at 33.3% to 40% of the recovery: no upfront cost, fee paid only from the result.
Sources: FairSettlement 2026 payout data; Mighty.com fee survey. Retrieved 2026-09-01.
Every figure this page relies on, with its source and date.
| Figure | What it measures | Source · retrieved |
|---|---|---|
| $31,000 | median auto-accident injury settlement | FairSettlement 2026 payout data, 2026-09-01 |
| $77,600 | average with attorney representation | FairSettlement 2026, 2026-09-01 |
| $12,000 | average soft-tissue claim | FairSettlement 2026, 2026-09-01 |
| 33.3% to 40% | standard contingency range | Mighty.com fee survey, 2026-09-01 |
| 6 to 9 months | clear-fault settlement clock | Coopers Law / Nicolet Law 2026, 2026-09-01 |
| 18 months | litigated-case duration | Brown & Crouppen 2026, 2026-09-01 |
| 2 to 3 years | most states' filing deadline | CaseFleet 2026 statute-of-limitations survey, 2026-09-01 |
| 1 year | shortest state deadlines (KY, TN) | Sweet James 2026, 2026-09-01 |
| 6 years | longest state deadlines (ME, ND) | Sweet James 2026, 2026-09-01 |
| nine states | states capping non-economic damages | Tavrn 2026 damages survey, 2026-09-01 |
| 2 years | Florida's deadline since March 2023 | DeadlineCalculator 2026, 2026-09-01 |
Sources: Coopers Law 2026; Nicolet Law 2026; Brown & Crouppen 2026. Retrieved 2026-09-01.
Two levers. First, the deadline: most states allow 2 to 3 years to file, but Kentucky and Tennessee allow only 1 year while Maine and North Dakota allow 6 years; Florida cut its deadline to 2 years in 2023, which is the cautionary tale about assuming last year's rule. Second, damage ceilings: nine states cap non-economic damages in general injury cases, which caps the pain-and-suffering component of value in those states. Your state's rules control both.
Sources: CaseFleet 2026; Sweet James 2026; DeadlineCalculator 2026; Tavrn 2026 damages survey. Retrieved 2026-09-01.
Certainty and speed: 6 to 9 months after treatment on the clear-fault path, no trial risk, fee at the lower end of 33.3% to 40% in many agreements.
Leverage and ceiling: 18 months or longer, higher costs, and trial risk in both directions. Rational when liability is disputed or the offer prices the injury below its documentation.
Sources: FairSettlement 2026; Brown & Crouppen 2026. Retrieved 2026-09-01.
"There's plenty of time." In Kentucky or Tennessee the entire window is 1 year, and evidence degrades from day one everywhere. "Big verdicts are typical." The median settlement is $31,000; the famous numbers are the tail, not the middle. "Lawyers are unaffordable." Contingency at 33.3% to 40% means the fee exists only if the recovery does, and represented claimants average $77,600 against that median.
Sources: Sweet James 2026; FairSettlement 2026; Mighty.com. Retrieved 2026-09-01.
What is the average settlement? Median $31,000; full ranges in settlement figures. How do the fees work? 33.3% to 40% contingency, detailed in how fees work. Car crash specifically? See Car Accidents; commercial truck, see Trucking Accidents; injured at work, see Workers' Compensation.
The factual triggers: injuries beyond a quick recovery; disputed fault; an insurer's early offer before treatment ends; a deadline inside a year (your state module above); or any commercial or governmental defendant. Each is a situation where the $77,600-vs-median gap tends to be earned, not lucky.
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Average settlement figures · How the fees actually work
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