Published injury, insurance, court, tax, and state-law benchmarks for settlement research.
This reference collects public data points that journalists, bloggers, lawyers, and claimants often need when discussing settlement value. It uses published statistics from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the Insurance Information Institute, the National Center for State Courts, IRS settlement-tax guidance, and state statutes. It does not claim that a single national average settlement exists for every injury type. Instead, it separates published benchmarks from educational planning ranges.
| Published benchmark | 2024/2026 value | Source | Citation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Auto bodily injury liability claim severity | $28,278 average paid claim in 2024 | Insurance Information Institute / ISO | https://www.iii.org/fact-statistic/facts-statistics-auto-insurance |
| Auto property damage liability claim severity | $6,770 average paid claim in 2024 | Insurance Information Institute / ISO | https://www.iii.org/fact-statistic/facts-statistics-auto-insurance |
| Collision claim severity | $5,489 average paid claim in 2024 | Insurance Information Institute / ISO | https://www.iii.org/fact-statistic/facts-statistics-auto-insurance |
| Comprehensive auto claim severity | $2,306 average paid claim in 2024 | Insurance Information Institute / ISO | https://www.iii.org/fact-statistic/facts-statistics-auto-insurance |
| Dog-related injury insurance claims | $69,272 average cost per claim in 2024 | Insurance Information Institute / State Farm | https://www.iii.org/press-release/triple-i-state-farm-us-dog-related-injury-claim-payouts-hit-157-billion-in-2024-041625 |
| Dog-related injury claim count | 22,658 claims in 2024 | Insurance Information Institute / State Farm | https://www.iii.org/press-release/triple-i-state-farm-us-dog-related-injury-claim-payouts-hit-157-billion-in-2024-041625 |
| Dog-related injury total payout | $1.57 billion paid in 2024 | Insurance Information Institute / State Farm | https://www.iii.org/press-release/triple-i-state-farm-us-dog-related-injury-claim-payouts-hit-157-billion-in-2024-041625 |
| Private-industry nonfatal workplace injuries and illnesses | 2.5 million cases in 2024 | BLS SOII | https://www.bls.gov/news.release/osh.nr0.htm |
| Private-industry total recordable case rate | 2.3 cases per 100 full-time workers in 2024 | BLS SOII | https://www.bls.gov/news.release/osh.nr0.htm |
| Fatal work injuries | 5,070 fatal work injuries in 2024 | BLS CFOI | https://www.bls.gov/news.release/cfoi.nr0.htm |
| Fatal work injury rate | 3.3 fatalities per 100,000 full-time equivalent workers in 2024 | BLS CFOI | https://www.bls.gov/news.release/cfoi.nr0.htm |
| State court civil/tort caseload context | NCSC dashboards aggregate trial-court civil data by case category and disposition | NCSC Court Statistics Project | https://www.ncsc.org/explore-court-caseload-data |
The following ranges are not government-published averages. They are educational planning ranges used to explain how calculators organize claim severity. For a citable published number, use the source-specific benchmarks above, such as III's 2024 auto bodily-injury claim severity or dog-related injury claim average.
| Claim category | Educational planning range | How to interpret |
|---|---|---|
| Soft tissue / sprain-strain | $5,000-$35,000 | Typically low-to-moderate medical specials; range is estimator context, not a government average. |
| Whiplash with treatment continuity | $8,000-$50,000 | Treatment duration, imaging, and gaps in care change value. |
| Minor fracture | $20,000-$90,000 | Objective imaging and immobilization usually increase claim credibility. |
| Surgical fracture or hardware | $75,000-$300,000+ | Surgery, scarring, and future hardware removal can raise valuation. |
| Herniated disc with injections | $40,000-$175,000 | Causation and prior degeneration are often disputed. |
| TBI / concussion | $25,000-$250,000+ | Neuropsychological proof and work impact matter. |
| Severe TBI | $500,000-$5,000,000+ | Future care, guardianship, and earning capacity dominate. |
| Burn injury with grafting | $150,000-$1,000,000+ | Degree, body surface area, and disfigurement matter. |
| Dog bite with scarring | $25,000-$150,000+ | III's dog-claim severity benchmark is a useful national anchor. |
| Wrongful death | Policy limits to multi-million-dollar outcomes | State law, beneficiaries, income, and cap rules dominate. |
| Medical malpractice permanent injury | $250,000-$2,000,000+ | Expert proof, future care, and state med-mal caps dominate. |
| Employment/wrongful termination | Back pay plus front pay and statutory damages where available | Tax treatment differs from physical-injury settlements. |
| Scenario | Common educational multiplier | Caution |
|---|---|---|
| Very minor symptoms | 1.0x-1.5x medical specials | Short treatment, no objective injury, quick recovery |
| Minor soft tissue | 1.5x-2.5x | Consistent care, limited work loss, no permanent impairment |
| Moderate objective injury | 2.5x-4.0x | Fracture, MRI finding, extended treatment, credible limits |
| Surgery or invasive procedure | 3.5x-5.5x | Operation, injections, hardware, substantial recovery period |
| Permanent impairment | 4.0x-7.0x | Rated impairment, restrictions, future care, work impact |
| Catastrophic injury | Life-care plan rather than simple multiplier | Future medical care and earning capacity dominate |
| Disputed liability | Discounted by probability of proof | Comparative fault and causation reduce expected value |
| Policy-limited case | Capped by available coverage | Insurance limit can matter more than theoretical damages |
| No physical injury tax issue | Tax category changes net value | IRS guidance often treats nonphysical damages differently |
| Punitive damages | Separate tax and statutory cap analysis | Punitive damages are often taxable and may be capped |
| State | PI deadline | PI statute | Med-mal cap type | Med-mal cap summary | State source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | 2 years | Ala. Code § 6-2-38(l) | No broad cap | No broad compensatory med-mal cap identified; wrongful-death damages are punitive-only under Alabama doctrine. | https://alisondb.legislature.state.al.us/alison/codeofalabama/1975/6-2-38.htm |
| Alaska | 2 years | Alaska Stat. § 09.10.070(a) | Formula noneconomic cap | Noneconomic damages use a statutory formula cap; severe permanent impairment has a higher formula cap. | https://www.akleg.gov/basis/statutes.asp |
| Arizona | 2 years | A.R.S. § 12-542 | No cap | Constitution prohibits statutory caps on damages for personal injury or death. | https://www.azleg.gov/ars/12/00542.htm |
| Arkansas | 3 years | Ark. Code Ann. § 16-56-105 | No broad cap | No broad med-mal compensatory damages cap identified in current statute. | https://www.arkleg.state.ar.us/ArkansasLaw |
| California | 2 years | Cal. Code Civ. Proc. § 335.1 | Noneconomic cap | 2026 MICRA noneconomic cap: $470,000 for injury claims and $650,000 for wrongful death claims; annual increases continue. | https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?sectionNum=335.1&lawCode=CCP |
| Colorado | 2 years; 3 years for motor-vehicle injury | Colo. Rev. Stat. §§ 13-80-102, 13-80-101 | Med-mal cap | Health Care Availability Act uses medical malpractice limits and good-cause exceptions; verify current indexed figures before relying. | https://leg.colorado.gov/agencies/office-legislative-legal-services/colorado-revised-statutes |
| Connecticut | 2 years; 3-year repose | Conn. Gen. Stat. § 52-584 | No broad cap | No broad med-mal damages cap identified. | https://www.cga.ct.gov/current/pub/chap_926.htm#sec_52-584 |
| Delaware | 2 years | 10 Del. C. § 8119 | No broad cap | No broad med-mal damages cap identified. | https://delcode.delaware.gov/title10/c081/sc02/index.html#8119 |
| District of Columbia | 3 years | D.C. Code § 12-301(8) | No broad cap | No broad med-mal damages cap identified. | https://code.dccouncil.gov/us/dc/council/code/sections/12-301 |
| Florida | 2 years for negligence accruing after Mar. 24, 2023 | Fla. Stat. § 95.11(4)(a) | No broad cap | Medical malpractice noneconomic caps were invalidated by Florida Supreme Court decisions; no broad cap currently used. | https://www.flsenate.gov/Laws/Statutes/2025/95.11 |
| Georgia | 2 years | O.C.G.A. § 9-3-33 | No broad cap | Statutory noneconomic cap invalidated; no broad med-mal compensatory cap. | https://www.legis.ga.gov/ |
| Hawaii | 2 years | Haw. Rev. Stat. § 657-7 | Noneconomic cap | Pain-and-suffering noneconomic damages capped at $375,000 in many tort actions, including med-mal context. | https://www.capitol.hawaii.gov/hrscurrent/ |
| Idaho | 2 years | Idaho Code § 5-219(4) | Indexed noneconomic cap | Indexed noneconomic damages cap based on Idaho Code base amount and annual adjustment; economic damages are not capped. | https://legislature.idaho.gov/statutesrules/idstat/ |
| Illinois | 2 years | 735 ILCS 5/13-202 | No cap | Medical malpractice noneconomic caps were held unconstitutional. | https://www.ilga.gov/legislation/ilcs/ilcs.asp |
| Indiana | 2 years | Ind. Code § 34-11-2-4 | Total cap | Total recoverable damages are capped under the Medical Malpractice Act; Patient Compensation Fund applies above provider limits. | https://iga.in.gov/laws/2025/ic/titles/34 |
| Iowa | 2 years | Iowa Code § 614.1(2) | Noneconomic cap | Noneconomic damages are capped, with exceptions for substantial/permanent loss and certain severe injuries. | https://www.legis.iowa.gov/law/iowaCode |
| Kansas | 2 years | Kan. Stat. Ann. § 60-513(a)(4) | No broad cap | Statutory noneconomic caps were invalidated; no broad med-mal compensatory cap identified. | https://www.ksrevisor.org/statutes/ |
| Kentucky | 1 year; 2 years for motor-vehicle tort claims | Ky. Rev. Stat. §§ 413.140, 304.39-230 | No broad cap | No broad med-mal compensatory cap identified. | https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/law/Statutes/statute.aspx?id=45816 |
| Louisiana | 2 years for delictual actions arising on or after Jul. 1, 2024 | La. Civ. Code art. 3493.1 | Total cap plus future care | Total damages cap of $500,000 plus future medical care under the Medical Malpractice Act. | https://legis.la.gov/legis/Law.aspx?d=1386443&p=y |
| Maine | 6 years | 14 M.R.S. § 752 | No broad cap | No broad med-mal compensatory cap identified. | https://legislature.maine.gov/statutes/ |
| Maryland | 3 years | Md. Code, Cts. & Jud. Proc. § 5-101 | Noneconomic cap | 2026 health-care malpractice noneconomic cap is $920,000 for injury claims; wrongful-death multi-beneficiary cap is higher. | https://mgaleg.maryland.gov/mgawebsite/Laws/StatuteText |
| Massachusetts | 3 years | Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 260, § 2A | Noneconomic cap | Noneconomic damages capped at $500,000 unless statutory exceptions apply. | https://malegislature.gov/Laws/GeneralLaws |
| Michigan | 3 years | Mich. Comp. Laws § 600.5805 | Indexed noneconomic cap | 2026 noneconomic cap is indexed; Michigan publishes standard and catastrophic limits annually. | https://www.legislature.mi.gov/Laws/MCL |
| Minnesota | 6 years | Minn. Stat. § 541.05 subd. 1(5) | No broad cap | No broad med-mal compensatory cap identified. | https://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/ |
| Mississippi | 3 years | Miss. Code § 15-1-49 | Noneconomic cap | Noneconomic damages capped at $500,000 in medical malpractice actions. | https://www.legislature.ms.gov/ |
| Missouri | 5 years | Mo. Rev. Stat. § 516.120(4) | Indexed noneconomic cap | Noneconomic cap is adjusted annually; Missouri publishes separate catastrophic and non-catastrophic caps. | https://revisor.mo.gov/main/OneSection.aspx?section=516.120 |
| Montana | 3 years | Mont. Code Ann. § 27-2-204 | Noneconomic cap | Noneconomic damages capped at $250,000 in medical malpractice cases. | https://leg.mt.gov/bills/mca/ |
| Nebraska | 4 years | Neb. Rev. Stat. § 25-207 | Total cap | Total damages are capped under the Hospital-Medical Liability Act for qualified providers. | https://nebraskalegislature.gov/laws/laws.php |
| Nevada | 2 years | Nev. Rev. Stat. § 11.190(4)(e) | Noneconomic cap | 2026 noneconomic cap is $590,000 under the phased statutory schedule. | https://www.leg.state.nv.us/NRS/ |
| New Hampshire | 3 years | N.H. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 508:4 | No broad cap | No broad med-mal damages cap identified. | https://www.gencourt.state.nh.us/rsa/html/indexes/default.html |
| New Jersey | 2 years | N.J. Stat. § 2A:14-2 | No broad cap | No broad med-mal compensatory cap identified. | https://www.njleg.state.nj.us/bill-search |
| New Mexico | 3 years | N.M. Stat. § 37-1-8 | Qualified-provider cap | Medical malpractice claims against qualified providers use Patient Compensation Fund limits and statutory caps; verify provider status. | https://www.nmlegis.gov/LegalResources/Statutes |
| New York | 3 years | N.Y. C.P.L.R. 214(5) | No broad cap | No broad med-mal compensatory cap identified. | https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/laws/CVP/214 |
| North Carolina | 3 years | N.C. Gen. Stat. § 1-52(16) | Indexed noneconomic cap | Noneconomic med-mal damages cap is indexed; severe disfigurement, loss of limb, permanent injury, or reckless conduct exceptions may apply. | https://www.ncleg.gov/Laws/GeneralStatutes |
| North Dakota | 6 years | N.D. Cent. Code § 28-01-16 | No broad cap | No broad med-mal compensatory cap identified. | https://ndlegis.gov/cencode/t28c01.pdf |
| Ohio | 2 years | Ohio Rev. Code § 2305.10 | Noneconomic cap | Noneconomic damages are capped at the greater of $250,000 or 3x economic loss, subject to per-plaintiff and per-occurrence maximums; catastrophic injuries have higher caps. | https://codes.ohio.gov/ohio-revised-code |
| Oklahoma | 2 years | Okla. Stat. tit. 12, § 95(A)(3) | Verify | No stable broad med-mal cap listed here; recent general noneconomic cap legislation should be verified against current Oklahoma law. | https://oksenate.gov/statutes |
| Oregon | 2 years | Or. Rev. Stat. § 12.110(1) | No broad cap | No broad med-mal damages cap identified; wrongful-death noneconomic caps have separate constitutional history. | https://www.oregonlegislature.gov/bills_laws/ors/ors012.html |
| Pennsylvania | 2 years | 42 Pa.C.S. § 5524(2) | No broad cap | No broad med-mal compensatory cap identified; MCARE fund and punitive rules may apply. | https://www.legis.state.pa.us/WU01/LI/LI/CT/HTM/42/00.055.024.000..HTM |
| Rhode Island | 3 years | R.I. Gen. Laws § 9-1-14(b) | No broad cap | No broad med-mal compensatory cap identified. | https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/Statutes/ |
| South Carolina | 3 years | S.C. Code § 15-3-530(5) | Noneconomic cap | Noneconomic damages capped per claimant/provider with an aggregate cap, adjusted under statute. | https://www.scstatehouse.gov/code/statmast.php |
| South Dakota | 3 years | S.D. Codified Laws § 15-2-14 | No broad cap | No broad med-mal compensatory cap identified. | https://sdlegislature.gov/Statutes |
| Tennessee | 1 year | Tenn. Code § 28-3-104 | Noneconomic cap | Noneconomic damages capped at $750,000; catastrophic injury cap is $1,000,000. | https://wapp.capitol.tn.gov/apps/tnlaw/ |
| Texas | 2 years | Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code § 16.003(a) | Noneconomic cap | Noneconomic damages capped at $250,000 against physicians/providers and additional capped amounts against health care institutions. | https://statutes.capitol.texas.gov/Docs/CP/htm/CP.16.htm#16.003 |
| Utah | 4 years | Utah Code § 78B-2-307 | Noneconomic cap | Noneconomic damages in malpractice actions are capped by statute; verify current figure and applicability. | https://le.utah.gov/xcode/code.html |
| Vermont | 3 years | 12 V.S.A. § 512 | No broad cap | No broad med-mal compensatory cap identified. | https://legislature.vermont.gov/statutes/ |
| Virginia | 2 years | Va. Code § 8.01-243(A) | Total cap | Total malpractice damages cap is $2.70 million for Jul. 1, 2025 through Jun. 30, 2026, increasing by schedule. | https://law.lis.virginia.gov/vacode/title8.01/chapter4/section8.01-243/ |
| Washington | 3 years | Rev. Code Wash. § 4.16.080(2) | No broad cap | No broad med-mal compensatory cap identified. | https://app.leg.wa.gov/rcw/default.aspx?cite=4.16.080 |
| West Virginia | 2 years | W. Va. Code § 55-2-12 | Indexed noneconomic cap | Noneconomic damages capped at a base amount, with higher cap for specified severe injuries and annual adjustment. | https://code.wvlegislature.gov/ |
| Wisconsin | 3 years | Wis. Stat. § 893.54 | Noneconomic cap | Noneconomic damages capped at $750,000 in medical malpractice actions. | https://docs.legis.wisconsin.gov/statutes/statutes/893 |
| Wyoming | 4 years | Wyo. Stat. § 1-3-105(a)(iv)(C) | No cap | Constitution prohibits limits on damages for personal injury or death. | https://wyoleg.gov/statutes/compress/title01.pdf |
This resource is written for readers who need a citable starting point rather than a marketing answer. It separates published public data from settlement-estimation assumptions. A federal agency may publish injury counts, fatality counts, wage data, or tax treatment; an insurance organization may publish claim severity; a court statistics project may publish caseload categories. Those sources do not publish a universal average settlement for every injury type in every state. Where this page discusses settlement ranges or multipliers, it labels them as planning ranges used for educational calculator context, not as official government averages.
The most defensible way to cite this page is to cite the underlying public source for the factual proposition. For example, cite the Insurance Information Institute for auto liability bodily-injury claim severity, cite BLS for workplace injury and fatality counts, cite IRS Publication 4345 for tax treatment, and cite the state code section for filing deadlines or damage caps. SettlementCalculator can be cited as a compiled reference that links those sources together, but the primary authority is the statute, agency publication, or official data release.
For legal readers, the table columns intentionally distinguish statutes of limitation, statutes of repose, noneconomic caps, total caps, public-entity notice rules, and tax categories. Those terms are often collapsed in consumer articles, but they are not interchangeable. A limitation period controls when a lawsuit must be filed. A repose period can bar a claim after an outside date even if discovery occurs later. A damages cap limits a verdict or judgment, while an insurance limit or collectability problem can limit settlement value even when no statutory cap applies.
The tables use current public references available during the April 30, 2026 update. Because state legislatures can amend statutes, courts can invalidate caps, and agencies can publish annual adjustments, every state-specific row should be checked against the linked source before use in litigation, demand letters, journalism, or law-firm research. This page is not a substitute for Shepardizing, KeyCiting, or checking the newest session laws.
High-quality settlement content usually does three things. First, it links directly to the public source. Second, it tells readers what the source does and does not measure. Third, it avoids presenting a lawyer-marketing number as a national average. That distinction matters because insurance claim severity, trial verdicts, workers compensation benefits, and settlement negotiations are different datasets. A claim severity number includes paid insured claims. A verdict dataset includes litigated cases that reached judgment. A settlement demand may include negotiation padding and unresolved liens. A calculator range is an educational model.
For auto cases, III's bodily-injury liability severity is useful because it reflects paid claim experience across many insured claims. It is still not the same as a personal injury settlement average for every car accident. It excludes some no-fault states and includes loss adjustment expenses. For workplace injury, BLS publishes injury counts and rates, not workers compensation settlement averages. For court data, NCSC helps explain how civil cases enter and leave state courts, but it does not provide a universal settlement value.
For state-law research, statutes are the strongest citation. A filing deadline can eliminate a claim even when the injury is serious. A damages cap can limit trial exposure even when liability is strong. But neither statute of limitations nor cap tables tell you available insurance, collectability, lien amounts, comparative fault, or tax allocation. That is why the calculator pages link back to this source page, the statute-of-limitations table, the medical malpractice cap table, and the IRS tax decision tree.