Typical ranges and the multipliers commonly used in negotiations.
Settlement value turns on injury type and severity more than on any other single factor. The figures below are typical ranges and the multipliers that appear most often in claims we see discussed. Your outcome will depend on liability, documented evidence, and your actual medical expenses, so treat this as a starting reference rather than a prediction.
| Injury | Multiplier | Typical range |
|---|---|---|
| Whiplash | 1.5× | $2,500 to $10,000 |
| Soft tissue injury | 1.8× | $5,000 to $25,000 |
| Broken bone / fracture | 3.0× | $15,000 to $60,000 |
| Herniated disc | 3.5× | $25,000 to $120,000 |
| Back injury | 3.0× | $20,000 to $100,000 |
| Knee injury | 3.0× | $15,000 to $75,000 |
| Shoulder injury | 2.8× | $15,000 to $70,000 |
| Concussion / TBI | 4.5× | $50,000 to $300,000+ |
| Scarring / disfigurement | 4.0× | $30,000 to $200,000 |
| Spinal cord injury | 5.0× | $200,000 to $1M+ |
The multiplier column is a starting point for the pain and suffering piece of a claim, applied to your medical bills; it is not a ceiling or a floor. Two claims with the same diagnosis can settle at opposite ends of the same range depending on documentation quality, treatment consistency, and how clearly the accident caused the injury. Imaging-confirmed injuries generally cluster toward the higher end of their range, while claims resting mostly on self-reported symptoms cluster lower, regardless of injury type.
Each injury type above links to a page covering how that specific claim is typically valued and what tends to move the number up or down. Once you have a real medical bill total, run it through the multiplier method tool or the combined pain and suffering calculator to get both a multiplier-based and per-diem-based estimate side by side.