How much can you expect from a truck accident settlement?

The true financial impacts of trucking crashes across the United States are monumental. Estimates calculated by the FMCSA in 2024 suggest that a trucking accident that causes a death results in average losses exceeding $3.6 million. A trucking accident that results in any type of injury usually costs around $200,000 to recover from.

Since truck accident lawsuits are designed to fully compensate the injured party for their losses, it makes sense that the average truck accident settlement often reaches tens of thousands of dollars. Several factors could influence your ultimate payout if you get involved in a truck accident, though.

To determine how much your potential truck accident settlement could be worth, it’s best to speak directly with an attorney, but we can provide a brief overview of what you can expect if you want to pursue a claim. Learn more about the settlement process below.

What Factors Affect Truck Accident Settlement Amounts?

Under the law, when one party has a duty to care for another party and their behaviors unjustly financially and physically impact another person, they are legally liable for those damages. In other words, they’ll have to pay for the other person’s losses.

In the context of a trucking accident, all drivers have a duty to provide for the care and safety of everyone else on the road. When someone causes an accident, they’re generally responsible for paying for the losses of the other person.

That said, the whole point of a truck accident lawsuit is for the injured party to be completely financially restored to the state they were in prior to the crash. Your truck accident settlement amount should equally match the losses you sustained due to the accident. This final settlement award varies on a case-by-case basis.

There are several factors that will impact the value of your claim, and we’ll go over each of them below.

Who Was at Fault?

The number one factor that could influence your truck accident settlement is who was at fault or what caused the accident. Truck accident settlements will only be available for the injured party if the trucker, trucking company, or another third party primarily caused the accident.

If your own driving behavior caused or contributed to the accident, then your settlement could be impacted, especially if you were more than 50% to blame. In some states, you won’t be able to file a claim at all if you were more than 50% at fault for the crash. In others, your total award will be reduced based on your percentage of fault.

Determining liability in truck accidents can get complicated, especially if the other party’s legal team is attempting to deflect blame off of themselves by accusing you or other factors of causing the incident. Poor driving behavior, adverse weather conditions, poor road infrastructure, defective car parts, and other factors could cause accidents.

Quality truck accident lawyers can help you identify what caused your crash by investigating the incident fully, reviewing all the evidence, and compiling a rock-solid report that demonstrates who should be held responsible for the accident.

The Level of Negligence Displayed in the Crash

Another thing that could influence your semi-truck accident compensation is the level of negligence displayed by the other party. In some cases, it may be possible to receive more compensation than what you actually lost, but this only happens in very rare situations when the other party has displayed an egregious level of disregard for your safety.

For instance, some 18-wheeler lawsuit settlements might involve negligence on the part of the trucking company. The trucking company may have pushed truck drivers to intentionally violate safety standards to increase profits. In these cases, the trucking company might have an incentive to continue acting in the same way to earn bigger profits, so courts may order them to pay punitive damages. These punitive damages are meant to discourage the trucking company and financially punish them. You benefit by seeking out a claim and pointing out their negligence to the court.

The Extent of Your Losses

Another major factor to consider when calculating settlement amounts is the full extent of your losses. In general, the average settlement for a commercial vehicle accident is quite high since the injuries are typically substantial. Serious injuries result in not only immediate medical costs but also significant potential long-term losses, too. The more serious your injuries are, the greater your settlement will be overall.

The Strength of Your Legal Claim

One of the biggest factors that could make or break your case will be the strength of the legal claim you present to the other party. While the law may be on your side, you won’t necessarily get the truck accident compensation you’re entitled to unless you can prove your claims.

Your first step is to fully compile your case, complete with all the evidence you’ll need to convince the other party what happened and how much they owe you. If you present a rock-solid case from the beginning, then the other party will be more likely to settle quickly and give you what you’re entitled to receive. If you present a questionable case, then the other party is likely to challenge your evidence, prolong your claim, or approach you with a much smaller offer.

Types of Compensation in Truck Accident Cases

After a truck accident, there are two main forms of compensation you can seek out in a legal claim — compensatory and punitive damages. Compensatory damages are meant to reimburse the injured party for all the losses they sustained in the accident. This includes both economic and non-economic losses, like medical expenses and emotional distress. Punitive damages are designed to penalize the other party for significant levels of recklessness.

The minimum truck settlement offer you should accept should be one that covers all the losses you can accurately prove. Below, we’ll go over in detail the types of losses you can seek compensation for in your claim.

Medical Costs and Rehabilitation

Medical expenses after a truck accident are one of the primary types of compensatory damages you can seek out in a lawsuit. You should seek out compensation for not only your immediate medical costs but also any potential long-term costs your injury will cause. For instance, if you need to go through months of physical rehabilitation, then you need to include that expense in any truck accident settlement amounts you estimate.

Pain and Suffering Compensation

Pain and suffering damages describe the emotional distress you might experience as a result of the ongoing pain and inconvenience of your injury. These losses are very difficult to place an economic value on, but an attorney can help you determine how much your pain and suffering may be worth.

Lost Wages and Future Earnings

Full financial compensation for your injuries must include damages in the form of any wages you missed out on earning and any future loss of wages. Depending on the extent of your injury, you might not ever be able to return to the same status in your career. If that’s the case, then you deserve an appropriate amount of compensation that covers that loss of potential income in the future.

Property Damage and Other Expenses

A truck crash could completely total your car. Thankfully, any property damage you experience is covered when you file a personal injury lawsuit against the truck driver, trucking company, or another liable third party. Other expenses you endure due to the accident, like an increase in childcare costs, should also be pursued in your claim.

How is Fault Determined in Accidents?

Who or what was at fault for your accident is one of the leading factors that will determine your settlement amount, but you might wonder how fault is determined after a crash. Immediately after the incident, police should arrive at the scene. They’ll file an official accident report, which should include statements from witnesses, any evidence collected at the scene, and an initial determination of fault based on the facts available to the police at the time of filing the report.

This will be the primary measure of fault in your accident, but you don’t have to rely entirely on this report. It’s best to seek out additional evidence, like video footage from nearby cameras, statements from accident reconstruction experts, and other means to fully prove what happened.

Real-World Truck Accident Settlement Examples

Learning more about actual settlement amounts in truck accidents can help you visualize what your claim may be worth. 

Here at Kermani LLP, our team helped secure $1.2 million for a client who was injured in a UPS truck crash. The injured client didn’t need surgery, but they did require epidural injections to recover. 

The largest ever truck accident settlement occurred in Georgia for $80 million when seven people were killed after a driver slammed into a line of stopped cars. When an accident causes multiple injuries or fatalities, settlement amounts can easily be in the millions or tens of millions of dollars; however, these are the outliers. 

For more common, minor accidents not involving debilitating injuries, settlements typically range from $25,000 to $100,000. In the case of more severe but non-fatal accidents, settlements are often in the hundreds of thousands of dollars. For example, a jack-knife accident that caused head injuries to a driver in Monterey led to a $602,000 settlement. 

Maximize Your Truck Accident Settlement: Expert Tips

One of the best ways to maximize your truck accident settlement is to take the proper steps directly after your crash.

1. Contact the police. Let the authorities handle the aftermath of the incident while you get the medical help you need.
2. As soon as your physical recovery is underway, contact a truck accident attorney. 
3. Your lawyer will help you navigate insurance claims for truck accidents and assist you with your next steps.

Why You Need a Lawyer for Your Truck Accident Case

The average 18-wheeler accident settlement tends to exceed tens of thousands of dollars, and for good reason. When truckers collide with passenger vehicles, the smaller car and occupants are typically significantly hurt.

Typically, it’s best to hire an attorney when you’re seeking fair compensation for truck accidents. Attempting to achieve reasonable trucking accident settlements without the help of an attorney usually results in the injured party accepting a settlement that’s far less than what they deserve.

The right lawyer will help you make good legal decisions, maximize your settlement, present a strong case, and expedite the process.

Here at Kremani LLP, we’ll help you get the compensation you need to move forward. We’ll put in the work to collect the right evidence, prove fault, value your losses, file the correct paperwork, negotiate with the other party or insurance adjusters, and secure your settlement check.

Schedule a meeting with our team here at Kermani LLP if you’re ready to get started on your case.