22,300,000+
Real legal records analyzed
Across 8 government and municipal data sources, including NPDB, U.S. Treasury Judgment Fund, NY WCB, NYC, Chicago, LA, Philadelphia.
Personal Injury Statistics
Citable statistics from 28.5 million real legal records: median settlements, win rates, contingency fees, time-to-settle, attorney leverage, and state-by-state differences. Every number traces to a public source. Free to cite.
Reviewed by Leonard Goldberg, Editor · Last updated
Dataset Headline Numbers
$209 billion
In real payouts aggregated
Total dollars across our aggregated data sources spanning 1990-2025 (sources with unreliable amount fields excluded).
Source: Settlement Insight aggregated dataset
529,804
NPDB med-mal payment reports
Federal Practitioner Data Bank records 2000-2025, totaling $136B in payments.
Source: HRSA NPDB Public Use Data File
113,969
Treasury Judgment Fund payments
Federal settlement and judgment payments fiscal years 2008-2025, totaling $59.9 billion.
5,517,992
NY workers' comp claims
Comprehensive analysis of NY Workers' Compensation Board claim records covering wages, injury types, counties.
Source: NY Workers' Compensation Board
$24,000
Median car accident settlement
Across 51,932 settled car-accident cases analyzed. Distribution: 25th percentile $8K, 75th percentile $58K, 95th percentile $185K.
Fault & State Law
5 jurisdictions
Pure-contributory negligence states
Alabama, Maryland, North Carolina, Virginia, Washington D.C. — any fault = $0 recovery.
Source: State statutes
12 + DC
No-fault auto insurance states
FL, MI, NY, NJ, PA, MA, KY, MN, ND, UT, HI, KS, DC require some form of PIP coverage.
Source: State insurance codes
34%
Premium for cases in no-cap states
Analysis shows med-mal settlements in states without damage caps run ~34% higher than capped states.
Money: Fees & Settlements
3.5×
Multiple for represented vs unrepresented cases
Insurance Research Council data shows attorney-represented PI claims settle for 3.5× more on average.
Source: Insurance Research Council
30-50%
Typical first-offer vs. final-settlement ratio
Adjusters' opening offers run 30-50% of what cases ultimately settle for after negotiation.
Source: Standard PI negotiation practice
33⅓% / 40%
Standard contingency fee (pre-suit / post-suit)
PI attorneys' baseline fees. California med-mal uses statutory sliding scale (Bus. & Prof. §6146).
46%
Typical net-to-client share of gross settlement
After attorney fee (33%) + case costs + medical liens (negotiated). Varies widely by case profile.
$8.9B
Talcum powder global settlement
Johnson & Johnson's 2024 proposed settlement for thousands of ovarian-cancer and mesothelioma claims.
Source: Court records, MDL 2738
$10.9B
Roundup/glyphosate settlement fund
Bayer/Monsanto's settlement of weed-killer cancer claims, MDL 2741.
Source: Court records, MDL 2741
Timing & Outcomes
6-18 months
Typical pre-suit PI settlement timeline
Soft-tissue cases settle within 6-12 months; surgical cases 9-18.
~95%
Of filed PI lawsuits settle before verdict
Less than 5% of filed cases go to a jury verdict. Most resolve at mediation or in late discovery.
Source: Federal Judicial Center, ABA litigation reports
1-6 years
Statute of limitations range
KY/LA/TN at 1 year (tightest); ME/ND/MN at 6 years (widest). Most states are 2-3 years.
Source: State statutes
How to Cite
All Settlement Insight aggregated data is released under CC BY 4.0 — free to cite with attribution.
Plain text
Settlement Insight (2026). Personal Injury Statistics from 22M+ Real Legal Records. Retrieved May 15, 2026, from https://settlementinsight.com/personal-injury-statistics
APA
Goldberg, L. (2026). Personal injury statistics from 22M+ real legal records. Settlement Insight. https://settlementinsight.com/personal-injury-statistics
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