What Increases the Value of a Personal Injury Settlement?

 Posted on December 04, 2025 in Personal Injury

Not all personal injury cases are worth the same amount. Two people injured in similar car crashes might receive vastly different settlements. Many people understandably wonder: How exactly are personal injury claim values calculated? What impacts the actual amount of money that you receive in your injury claim?

Although there is not a predictable value for every case, certain types of accidents and injuries consistently result in higher settlements. The severity of your injuries, the clarity of who is at fault, and the impact on your life all affect how much compensation you can recover. Illinois law allows you to pursue damages for both economic losses and non-economic harm like pain and suffering. Our Joliet personal injury attorneys excel at getting the most money possible for our clients. Call us today at 815-710-3700. 

How Does Injury Severity Affect Settlement Value?

Serious injuries drive higher settlement values. For example, traumatic brain injuries, spinal cord damage causing paralysis, amputations, severe burns, and injuries requiring multiple surgeries all increase settlement value dramatically.

The permanence of your injuries also matters enormously. Temporary injuries heal and life returns to normal. Permanent disabilities last forever. If you will never work again, need lifetime medical care, or require assistance with daily activities, your settlement must account for decades of future losses.

What Types of Accidents Result in Higher Personal Injury Settlements?

Certain kinds of accidents typically involve more severe injuries and higher settlements:

• Fatal accidents resulting in wrongful death claims compensate families for losing a loved one

• High-speed car crashes causing traumatic brain injuries, spinal damage, or multiple broken bones

• Truck accidents where the size and weight difference creates catastrophic impact

• Motorcycle accidents leaving riders with severe road rash, broken bones, and head trauma

• Pedestrian accidents where vehicles strike unprotected individuals

• Construction accidents involving falls from height, crushing injuries, or equipment failures

• Medical malpractice causing permanent disability, birth injuries, or wrongful death

These accidents share common features: The resulting injuries tend to be severe, permanent, and life-altering.

How Does Obvious Liability Increase Value?

If the other driver obviously ran a red light and crashed into you, liability is clear. But Illinois law under 735 ILCS 5/2-1116 says that if someone is more than 50 percent at fault for their injuries, they cannot recover compensation at all. Insurance companies know when they will lose at trial and make better settlement offers. But cases with disputed fault often settle for less because of uncertainty about who will win, especially if the insurance company thinks they can argue close to that 50 percent limit. 

Strong evidence of negligence strengthens your case and increases value. Police reports stating the other party violated traffic laws, surveillance video showing exactly what happened, and witness statements confirming fault all make your case more valuable. The easier it is to prove the other party caused your injuries, the more insurance companies will pay to settle.

What Role Do Economic Damages Play in an Injury Settlement?

If your injuries prevent you from working, you can recover lost wages, but the real value comes from lost future earning capacity. A 35-year-old who can never work again loses decades of income. This future loss adds hundreds of thousands or even millions to settlement value.

Your career and income level matter, too. Higher earners lose more income when injured. A surgeon who can no longer perform surgery loses more earning capacity than someone earning minimum wage. 

Medical prognosis also affects future damages. If doctors say you will need three more surgeries, ongoing therapy, and lifetime pain management, your future medical expenses multiply. These future costs must be included in your settlement because you only get one chance to recover compensation.

How Do Non-Economic Damages Increase Settlements?

Pain and suffering compensation addresses the physical pain and emotional trauma you endure. Severe injuries cause more pain, and therefore warrant higher compensation. Loss of quality of life also impacts settlement value substantially. If you can no longer play with your children, pursue hobbies you loved, or maintain relationships the way you did before, the law recognizes that these losses deserve compensation even though they have no price tag.

Call a Will County, IL Personal Injury Lawyer Today

Contact Carlson Law Group, P.C. at 815-710-3700 for a free consultation about your injury case. Our Joliet, IL personal injury attorney has over 20 years of experience handling catastrophic injury claims, including car crashes, truck accidents, wrongful death, and other serious cases. We know what factors increase settlement value and how to build cases that maximize compensation for our clients.