The amount of a settlement for whiplash victims can vary widely, from less than $10,000 to over $100,000. The amount you could receive depends mainly on how bad the injury was. Whiplash injuries range from minor to extremely debilitating. Other factors are whether you were partially to blame, the state where the accident happened, and how much insurance is available.
A range of whiplash injuries
The biggest reason why whiplash settlements have such a large range is that there is a broad spectrum of whiplash injuries. Some are fairly minor. Others are severe.
Doctors have two ways to grade the severity of a whiplash injury. They are the:
- Quebec Task Force on Whiplash-Associated Disorders (QTF-WAD), and
- Croft grading system.[1]
Both are very similar. They use the whiplash symptoms to assign a grade. For example, the Croft grading system looks like this: [2]
| Grade | Symptoms of whiplash |
| I | Minimal neck or back pain |
| II | Slight pain, plus a limited range of motion |
| III | Moderate pain, a limited range of motion, ligament damage, and possibly some neurological symptoms |
| IV | Moderate to severe pain, limited motion, unstable ligaments, neurological symptoms, and a fracture or disc derangement |
| V | Severe pain and surgery is required to stabilize the neck |
These symptoms tend to go through the following stages: [3]
| Stage | Time after injury |
| Stage I – acute inflammatory stage | 0 – 72 hours |
| II – repair stage | 72 hours – 14 weeks |
| III – remodeling stage | 14 weeks – 1 year or longer |
| IV – chronic stage | Permanent |
A common course of treating whiplash is by seeing a chiropractor. How long it takes to recover can depend on the grade of the whiplash and how often you get treatment. One guideline suggests that the maximum duration for treatment would be: [4]
| Daily visits | 3 per week | 2 per week | Weekly | Monthly | |
| Grade I | 1 week | 1 – 2 weeks | 2 – 3 weeks | Over 4 weeks | 2 months |
| Grade II | 1 week | Over 4 weeks | Over 4 weeks | Over 4 weeks | Over 4 months |
| Grade III | 1 – 2 weeks | Over 10 weeks | Over 10 weeks | Over 10 weeks | Over 6 months |
| Grade IV | 2 – 3 weeks | Over 12 weeks | Over 16 weeks | Over 20 weeks | Permanent |
| Grade V | Depends on the results of the surgery | ||||
According to the Colorado Chiropractic Association:
“This guide is based on analysis of approximately 2,000 randomly selected cases from a number of treating practitioners’ files… Patients not at high risk for poor outcome should not require treatment approaching these maxima.” [5]
Common car accidents for whiplash to occur
Whiplash is especially common in the following types of car accidents:
- rear-end collisions,
- T-bone accidents, and
- head-on crashes.
The personal injury lawyers at our law firm have found that relatively minor whiplash is most common after a rear-end collision. These account for 30 percent of all crashes in the U.S.[6]
In any of these types of crashes, you get jostled with little warning. Without the ability to prepare for the blow your head can snap violently forwards, backwards, or to the side. This can cause soft tissue injuries such as:
- strains,
- sprains,
- bruises,
- inflammation,
- torn muscles, and
- tendon or ligament damage.
It can also damage the spine, causing:
- spinal fractures,
- bulging or herniated discs,
- nerve damage, and
- chronic back or neck pain.
The whip-like motion of your neck can also cause traumatic brain injuries (TBIs) if the motion causes your brain to concuss the inside of your skull. This can cause the following types of injuries:
- memory loss,
- neurological damage,
- loss of cognitive abilities,
- headaches, and
- brain fog.
Factors in a whiplash settlement amount
In addition to the severity of your whiplash injury, two other important factors are:
- whether you were partially to blame for the accident that caused your whiplash, and
- the availability of insurance coverage.
These can substantially reduce the likelihood that you recover the full amount that you deserve.
Shared fault rules
All states have personal injury laws that govern what happens when the victim was partially responsible for their injuries. These are shared fault rules. There are three main types:
- contributory negligence,
- pure comparative negligence, and
- modified comparative negligence.
Contributory negligence laws bar you from recovering any compensation for your losses if you contributed any responsibility for the accident, even just 1 percent.[7] This rule is extremely harsh for victims. Very few states use it.
Pure comparative negligence is the other extreme. About a dozen states in the U.S. use this shared fault law. In these states, your compensation is reduced by the percentage of fault you brought to the accident.[8]
Most states use modified comparative negligence. Under this rule, your compensation in the accident case is reduced by your percentage of fault, but you are barred from recovering anything if you were more than half at-fault.[9]
For this reason, where the auto accident happened is a big factor.
Insurance coverage
The availability of insurance coverage can impact what you receive. Drivers are required to carry car insurance to be on the road legally, but some do not.
According to the Insurance Research Council (IRC):
“14 percent of motorists, or 1 in every seven drivers, are uninsured.”[10]
If the driver who hit and hurt you is uninsured, you may be limited to your uninsured / underinsured motorist coverage on your own policy, if you have this type of coverage.
Even if the driver does have liability insurance, policy limits can apply. If you suffered severe injuries that required lots of medical care, you may suffer losses that are higher than the at-fault driver’s insurance limits. In these cases, you would have to look elsewhere for a fair compensation amount, or go undercompensated.
There is no average whiplash settlement
Because of all of these factors, it is impossible or misleading to state what an average settlement amount would be for a whiplash injury. Identical crashes can lead to different results.
How to estimate the payout of your whiplash case
While there is no average settlement amount, you can estimate the value of your own claim. This approximates what the verdict would be if your personal injury case were to go to trial. The personal injury lawyers at our law firm generally use the multiplier method.
First, you add up all of your economic damages. These are losses that you have suffered that are easy to put in a dollar amount. It includes your property damage, medical bills, and lost income. It also includes future medical expenses, like for physical therapy and other medical treatment for your back and neck injuries.
Second, you estimate your noneconomic damages. These are losses that are not easy stated in a dollar amount. They include compensation for your pain and suffering, emotional distress, and loss of life’s enjoyments.
Third, you multiply your noneconomic damage estimate by a number between 1 and 5. That number reflects how much the accident altered your life. It would probably be a 1 if you recovered fully within a few months. It would be a 5 if the accident ruined your life.
Finally, you add your economic damages to your multiplied noneconomic damage estimate. This is the full amount it would take to make you whole, once again. It would be reduced by your share of fault. If there is insufficient insurance coverage, you may struggle to get it.
How a personal injury attorney can increase your whiplash injury settlement
A car accident lawyer can help you increase the amount of compensation you receive for your whiplash injury claim in several ways:
- insurance companies will treat you more seriously than other accident victims if you have legal representation,
- a lawyer will have a better idea than you as to whether a fair settlement offer has been made or not,
- their experience can better predict whether you will likely need more medical attention and incur further medical costs,
- your lawyer will know what evidence from your medical records is going to matter and how to present it,
- by advocating for your interests throughout the car accident settlement process with the insurance adjusters, and
- by filing a personal injury claim in court before the statute of limitations has passed, if necessary.
A car accident attorney can also handle your injury claim so you can focus on your recovery rather than the insurance claim process.
Legal Citations:
[1] Croft, Arthur, et al, “Comparing 2 Whiplash Grading Systems to Predict Clinical Outcomes,” Journal of Chiropractic Medicine (June 2016).
[2] Same
[3] “Croft Whiplash Treatment Guidelines,” Colorado Chiropractic Association (January 2004).
[4] Same.
[5] Same.
[6] Technical Report, “Driver Attributes and Rear-End Crash Involvement Propensity,” National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (March 2003).
[7] See, e.g., Coutlakis v. CSX Transportation, Inc., 796 S.E.2d 556 (2017) (Virginia).
[8] See, e.g., Li v. Yellow Cab Co., 13 Cal.3d 804 (1975) (California) and Florida Statutes 768.81.
[9] See, e.g., Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code 33.001.
[10] Insurance Research Council, “Uninsured Motorists, 2017-2022,” (October 25, 2023).
