How every ClaimCalc estimate is calculated

The core formula: pain & suffering (multiplier method)

Used on the pain and suffering calculator, the personal injury settlement calculator, and the homepage.

Pain & suffering = total medical bills × severity multiplier. Total medical bills = medical bills so far + estimated future medical. Lost wages = days of work missed × daily wage. Economic damages = medical bills + lost wages. The grand total = (economic damages + pain & suffering) × (other party's fault % ÷ 100).

Worked example: $8,000 in medical bills, moderate injury, 100% other-party fault. Pain & suffering = $8,000 × 2.5 to $8,000 × 4.0 = $20,000–$32,000. Add lost wages on top for the full total.

Attorney net estimate applies a 33% contingency fee (ABA Model Rules guidance, common pre-suit practice) to the total, not to each line item separately.

Comparative and contributory negligence by state

The grand total above is multiplied by the other party's fault percentage. Which states allow any recovery at all when you share fault is governed by each state's negligence rule, applied automatically when you select your state in the calculator:

• Pure comparative negligence (12 states): you recover even at 99% fault, reduced by your percentage.
• Modified comparative, 50% bar (12 states): you recover only if you're under 50% at fault.
• Modified comparative, 51% bar (22 states): you recover only if you're 50% or less at fault.
• Contributory negligence (Alabama, Maryland, North Carolina, Virginia, DC): even 1% fault on your side can eliminate recovery entirely.

Source: ABA TIPS 50-state comparative negligence survey (2023). Full per-state table in the methodology guide and in src/lib/states.ts.

Case-specific calculators — what changes per injury type

Every vertical calculator starts from the core formula above and adds case-specific modifiers. Nothing here is a different methodology — it's the same multiplier method with the inputs a claims adjuster would actually weigh for that injury type.

Car accident

Adds vehicle property damage as a separate line item (not multiplied, reduced only by fault %, and excluded from the attorney-fee deduction since contingency fees typically don't apply to property damage). In the 12 no-fault / PIP-threshold states (FL, MI, NY, NJ, PA, MN, ND, UT, HI, KS, KY, MA), the calculator surfaces a warning that pain and suffering is only recoverable once your injury crosses the state's statutory threshold.

Dog bite

Replaces the generic severity scale with the Dunbar scale (6 levels, from a pre-bite snap with no skin contact at 1.2x–1.8x, up to a fatal or severely disfiguring attack at 8.5x–12.0x). Two modifiers adjust the pain & suffering multiplier: visible scarring/disfigurement and a child claimant — both reflect patterns documented in jury verdict research, not an invented bonus.

Neck injury

Uses three injury categories (whiplash/strain, herniated disc, cervical fracture) instead of a generic severity picker. Negative imaging caps soft-tissue claims at the low end of the moderate band (reflecting how claims software like Colossus scores unconfirmed injuries); a positive MRI or surgery moves the case into the severe band.

Slip and fall

Enforces each state's comparative-negligence bar live: in a 50%-bar state, 50% or more self-fault zeroes the result; in a 51%-bar state, fault over 50% zeroes it; in a contributory-negligence state, any self-fault at all zeroes it. The calculator also factors in whether a warning sign was posted and how long the hazard existed — both go to premises-liability notice, a required element of the claim.

Workplace injury (dual-track)

Computes two tracks side by side: the workers' comp track (medical bills + roughly two-thirds wage replacement, no pain and suffering) and, when a third party contributed to the injury (a subcontractor, another company's vehicle, defective equipment), a separate personal injury track with full economic damages and pain and suffering, reduced by a negotiated workers' comp lien (subrogation) estimate.

Workers' compensation formulas

Used on the workers comp calculator, the PPD calculator, and every state page.

• Weekly benefit = pre-injury weekly wage × state benefit percentage, capped at the state's maximum weekly benefit and floored at its minimum. Most states use 66.67% (two-thirds); a handful use 60%, 70%, 75%, or 80% — see the state table below.
• TTD (Temporary Total Disability) = weekly benefit × weeks of disability.
• TPD (Temporary Partial Disability) = (pre-injury wage − modified-duty wage) × state benefit percentage × weeks, capped at the state maximum.
• PPD (Permanent Partial Disability) = weekly benefit × scheduled weeks for the injured body part × impairment rating. When no exact impairment rating is entered, the calculator models a typical 15%–35% band rather than a fabricated single number.
• PTD (Permanent Total Disability) = weekly benefit, paid with no statutory maximum number of weeks in most states.
• Attorney net estimate applies a 20% contingency fee — the workers' comp norm, not the 33% personal injury rate.

Per-state weekly maximum/minimum benefits, benefit percentage, and scheduled weeks per body part are sourced from each state's official Workers Compensation Board (linked on every state page) and cross-checked against NCCI annual statistical reports.

Medical malpractice — the same math, plus state damage caps

Used on the medical malpractice calculator. The pain & suffering math is the same multiplier method as everywhere else, with the floor shifted higher (3.0x–10x rather than 1.5x–10x) because a malpractice claim has to clear a higher bar (deviation from the standard of care that caused real harm) before it's viable at all.

What's different: many states cap malpractice damages by statute. Per the Center for Justice & Democracy's September 2025 state law summary, 6 states cap total damages, 24 cap non-economic damages only, 8 had a cap struck down and not re-passed, and the rest have no cap. This calculator shows which category your state falls into but does not apply a specific dollar cap — exact amounts vary and change, and we don't have a verified current figure for every capped state. See the calculator page for the full state list.

Wrongful death — not the multiplier method

Used on the wrongful death calculator. This is the one calculator on the site that deliberately does not use the multiplier method. Wrongful death damages are a different category: funeral and burial costs (summed directly), loss of financial support (decedent's annual income × years of expected support), and a separate survival-action claim (the estate's claim for medical bills and lost wages between injury and death).

Non-economic loss — consortium, companionship, guidance — has no standard formula and is decided case-by-case by a jury or in negotiation. We don't model it with a multiplier because we don't think a formula for the value of a relationship would be honest; the calculator leaves that figure entirely up to the user to enter from their own research or an attorney consultation.

Diminished value — the "17c" formula

Used on the diminished value calculator. Unlike every other formula on this page, this one is not a regulated or nationally standardized method — it's a convention named for where it appeared in the record of a 2001 Georgia court case, State Farm v. Mabry. We publish it because it's the most widely used starting point, not because it's official.

Diminished value = 10% of pre-accident vehicle value × damage multiplier × mileage multiplier. Damage multiplier ranges from 0.00 (cosmetic only) to 1.00 (structural damage). Mileage multiplier steps down from 1.00 under 20,000 miles to 0.00 at 100,000+ miles (one commonly cited version — other sources use different steps). A documented criticism: stacking a mileage multiplier on an already mileage-adjusted base value double-counts depreciation, which is part of why this formula remains contested in litigation. Treat its output as a negotiating starting point, not an official appraisal.

Found an error in the math or a source?

Email editor@claimcalc.app or use the contact page. See editorial policy for how corrections are handled.