New Jersey Personal Injury Settlement Calculator

What the New Jersey Personal Injury Settlement Calculator Does

The calculator estimates your total settlement and net recovery after accounting for:

• Your medical bills (past and future)
• Lost wages due to time off work
• Property damage (like car repairs)
• Injury severity multiplier (pain and suffering)
• Your percentage of fault
• The at-fault party’s insurance limit
• Attorney’s fees and case costs

It doesn’t replace a lawyer, but it helps you see the math behind your potential settlement — using the same kind of logic injury attorneys and insurance adjusters apply.

How Personal Injury Settlements Work in New Jersey

Before you use the calculator, it helps to understand how New Jersey law handles fault and damages.

1. The 51% Bar Rule (Comparative Fault)

New Jersey uses a modified comparative fault rule.
That means:

• You can recover damages only if you are 50% or less at fault.
• If you are 51% or more at fault, you get nothing.

So, if the calculator shows a message like:

“You cannot recover damages if you are more than 50% at fault,”
it’s applying that exact rule.

2. Economic Damages

These are your out-of-pocket losses — the easy-to-measure stuff:

• Medical bills
• Lost income or earning potential
• Property damage

The calculator adds these together automatically.

3. Non-Economic Damages

This is where the injury severity multiplier comes in.
Non-economic damages cover pain, suffering, emotional distress, and loss of enjoyment of life.

Depending on how serious your injuries are, the calculator multiplies your economic damages by a severity factor:

This mirrors how many insurance adjusters estimate pain and suffering values.

Step-by-Step: How the Calculator Works

Here’s how the settlement estimate is calculated under the hood.

1. Add Up Economic Damages

Medical bills + lost wages + property damage.

2. Add Non-Economic Damages

(Medical + lost wages) × injury multiplier.

3. Subtract Fault Percentage

If you’re partly at fault, your total is reduced by that percentage.
Example: 20% at fault = 20% reduction in your total.

4. Apply Policy Limit (If Any)

If the at-fault driver’s insurance policy limit is lower than your calculated settlement, the calculator caps the total at that amount.

5. Subtract Attorney’s Fee and Case Costs

The calculator also lets you estimate your net recovery after attorney’s fees (33.3% to 40% in most NJ cases) and medical liens or case expenses.

At the end, you’ll see:

• Total Settlement Amount
• Economic Damages
• Non-Economic Damages
• Attorney Fee
• Case Costs
• Your Net Recovery

Example Calculation

Let’s say:

• Medical Expenses: $20,000
• Lost Wages: $5,000
• Property Damage: $2,000
• Injury Severity: Moderate (3x multiplier)
• Fault: 20%
• Policy Limit: $100,000
• Attorney Fee: 33.3%
• Case Costs: $2,000

Here’s what happens:

1. Economic Damages: $27,000
2. Non-Economic Damages: ($25,000 × 3) = $75,000
3. Total Before Reductions: $102,000
4. Fault Reduction: 20% → −$20,400 → $81,600
5. Attorney Fee: 33.3% → −$27,188
6. Case Costs: −$2,000
7. Final Net Recovery: ≈ $52,400

That’s your estimated take-home amount after all standard deductions.

Important Disclaimer

The calculator provides an estimate only.
It’s not legal advice and doesn’t account for every factor that could affect your real settlement value, such as:

• Long-term medical complications
• Multiple liable parties
• Punitive damages
• Complex insurance negotiations

Always consult a qualified New Jersey personal injury attorney to review your specific situation.

The calculator just helps you understand what your numbers might look like — so you can have an informed conversation with your lawyer or insurance adjuster.

Why This Calculator Matters

Most people have no clear idea what their case is worth until they talk to a lawyer.
This tool bridges that gap.

It helps you:

• Understand how fault affects compensation
• See the impact of medical bills and lost wages
• Realize how injury severity multiplies value
• Estimate your net recovery after fees and costs

With just a few numbers, you get a clearer view of your potential financial recovery.