How much should you expect for a wrongful arrest settlement?

How much should I expect for an auto accident settlement? Tips to increase this?

• Some details: The accident happened a little over 2 yrs ago. I was not at fault - it was an elderly woman who took out 3 other vehicles. I have had upper neck pain (base of skull) and horrible evening headaches since the accident. I went through about 4 months of physical therapy and on and off chiropractic work. (I don't know the medical costs although I would guess around $3000? - bills have all been covered by the insurance company) The headaches aren't gone, but are infrequent enough that my own insurance could cover the chiropractic visits from here out. My car has already been totaled and I received a lowball NADA value for it. Any tips for negotiating my settlement? Do they really have a formula based on medical bills? What factors play into my final settlement amount? Keywords? Not interested in a lawyer and their 30-40% cut!

• Answer:

  No, there's no such formula based on medical bills. The biggest factor, is state law - in some states, you wouldn't be eligible for anything. In others, it would be medical bills only, and chiro bills are heavily discounted. Actual injuries count. What the ER showed was the problem - and soft tissue injures, well, that's not a big deal. Depending on what state you are in, you might be too late for asking for pain & suffering - most states, the statute of limitations is two years. Or less. The insurance is NEVER going to pay out more than the policy limit, and with two other cars involved, you could have hit that already - you have NO idea how much THEY have received, or what her policy limits are. You're best off discussing this with YOUR AGENT, because you didn't give anywhere near enough information here.