Am I Being Lowballed?
Compare your settlement offer against 22 million real US payouts — NPDB, Treasury, NYC, Chicago, Philadelphia, and NY Workers' Comp Board
Check Your Settlement Offer
Enter your case type and the insurance offer you received. We'll show you where it falls in our 22M-record dataset.
Revisado Editorialmente — Contenido revisado en cuanto a exactitud utilizando investigación legal publicada, datos gubernamentales y registros judiciales verificados. Vea nuestra metodología
Reviewed by Leonard Goldberg, Editor · Last updated
Why this tool is accurate
Most online calculators use estimates or industry averages. This tool compares your offer against real, verified settlement payments from public records — 53.2 million records spanning 2000-2025.
Our data comes from the National Practitioner Data Bank (every medical malpractice payment since 1990), U.S. Treasury Judgment Fund (federal settlements), NYC Law Department (12K+ NYC settlements), Chicago and Philadelphia municipal databases, NY Workers' Compensation Board (1.7M claims), and NAIC insurance data. All public, all citable.
Percentiles are calculated from actual paid amounts — not theoretical maximums or insurer-reported averages. When we say you're in the 25th percentile, we mean 75% of real US cases paid more than your offer.
How to use the result
- If you're below the 25th percentile: Your offer is almost certainly a lowball. Do NOT accept without negotiation. Insurers consistently open at 10-25% of case value betting claimants will accept. Counter with a detailed demand letter.
- If you're in the 25-50th percentile: Your offer is below the median. Negotiate. A Martindale-Nolo reader survey found represented claimants received roughly 4× more on average than unrepresented ones ($77,600 vs $17,600, self-reported).
- If you're in the 50-75th percentile: Your offer is in the typical range. Verify it fully accounts for all damages (future medical, lost earning capacity, pain and suffering via multiplier method). May still be worth negotiating with strong evidence.
- If you're in the 75-90th percentile: Your offer is above average. Strong position. Review whether permanent impairment and future care are fully included before accepting.
- If you're above the 90th percentile: Your offer is in the top 10% of real payouts. Often worth accepting if damages are correctly valued — but always review before signing a general release.
What this tool doesn't account for
Be aware of these limits when interpreting the result:
- State-specific damage caps (24 states cap non-economic damages in medical malpractice).
- Fault percentage reductions (contributory vs. comparative negligence differ by state).
- Individual severity factors beyond category — a spinal cord injury from a slip-fall may command slip-fall top-of-range, not typical.
- Age and dependents (younger claimants with dependents command higher settlements).
- Insurance policy limits (a case worth $1M doesn't pay $1M if policy limit is $250K).
- Litigation vs. settlement (trial verdicts often 2-5× settlement values, but also carry risk).
What to do next
- Run our full settlement calculator for a damages-based estimate using medical bills, lost wages, and severity multiplier.
- Research your state's damage caps and fault rules on our damage caps by state research page.
- Explore our real settlement data research to see how your case compares at the state/source level.
- Consult a personal injury attorney — free consultations, contingency fees (no upfront cost). Martindale-Nolo survey data: represented claimants received roughly 4× more on average (self-reported).