What Is the Average Settlement for a Rear-End Collision in Minnesota?

What is the average settlement for a rear-end collision? Although you may see quite a few different estimates for accidents like this when doing an Internet search, the truth is that the average settlement for a rear-end collision is not possible to calculate with any level of certainty. The injuries and hardships you have after the crash will determine the amount you can potentially win in a lawsuit.

If you can recover from your injuries in a few weeks and return to your normal life, your settlement may be a four- or five-figure amount. If you suffered debilitating injuries in the rear-end collision that wasn’t your fault, leaving you needing ongoing medical care and facing a future with constant pain, your settlement could be a six- or seven-figure settlement.

Calculating average amounts for victims in accidents like this simply doesn’t work because of the wide range of potential injuries that may occur. Rear-end accident injuries can range from a few simple lacerations to spinal injuries and traumatic brain injuries (TBIs). Determining what you would win in a settlement or in a lawsuit after your accident often comes down to the skill and experience of your Minneapolis rear-end accident attorneys. We present facts to the insurance company regarding the severity of your injuries, backed up with facts and reports from your doctors, before we can attempt to win the maximum amount for you.

Factors That Could Affect the Average Settlement for a Rear-End Accident in Minnesota

The key factors that affect the amount you potentially could win as an average settlement for a rear-end injury accident are the severity of injuries that you have and the way they are affecting your life.

Someone who is able to return to a normal life at home and at work within a couple of weeks will likely win a smaller award than someone who has life-altering injuries that prevent the victim from returning to work or from maintaining the same quality of life as they had before the accident.

Insurance companies are not going to simply accept your opinion about your reduction in quality of life. Instead, they want an opinion from your doctor about the hardships you have in your life because of your injuries. That’s why it’s so important to seek medical care as soon as possible after the accident, so your doctor can document the injuries you suffered in the rear-end crash and can monitor any progress you’re making.

Even if you believe you were fine immediately after the rear-end accident, you could have severe pain the next day. See a doctor at that time and be completely honest about all your injuries, so you have a baseline regarding how the accident affected your life before starting treatment.

Determining Fault in a Rear-End Injury Accident and How It Affects the Average Settlement

Because Minnesota is a no-fault insurance state, according to the Minnesota Department of Commerce, some clients have confusion about how they can qualify to win an award in a rear-end collision accident. Although some award amounts do not rely on a finding of fault, other portions of your potential award do require your rear-end accident lawyers in Minnesota to prove the other driver is at fault.

No-Fault Benefits

If you are driving a vehicle registered in Minnesota or primarily used in Minnesota, you must carry Personal Injury Protection (PIP) coverage on your auto insurance policy. Your PIP benefits pay you for the no-fault losses you have after the injury accident up to a maximum of $40,000, split equally between medical bills and non-medical costs, like lost wages. You receive these benefits from your policy regardless of who is at fault for the crash.

Benefits That Require Proving Fault

Minnesota statute §65B.51 sets the criteria for receiving an award for other losses you may have, such as a pain and suffering award. To win this type of award from the other driver’s insurance, which goes beyond the PIP coverage, you and your rear-end accident law firm must prove that the other driver is primarily at fault for the accident and for your injuries.

Because the awards for things like pain and suffering, long-term disability, and emotional trauma can be quite a bit larger financially than awards for your medical bills or lost wages, proving that the other driver is at fault in your rear-end crash is extremely important.

Investigating Your Accident

When it comes to proving fault in a rear-end crash, many people assume that the driver coming from behind is always at fault. This driver is at fault most of the time, but not always. The insurance company may try to limit the amount it pays you in an award for your injuries by trying to claim that your actions caused the accident, even though the other driver rear-ended you.

When you hire our Minneapolis car accident lawyers to help with your case, we do a thorough investigation to determine fault. We do not just accept the insurance company’s interpretation of the facts. Instead, we look for evidence that shows the driver who hit you from behind is completely at fault, meaning you deserve an award for your pain and suffering.

We also can investigate complex accident situations, such as when the rear-end crash involves multiple cars. It’s common to have a chain reaction occur when one driver strikes the last car in a line of vehicles that are waiting at a stoplight. We help to cut the red tape in this type of rear-end accident, helping our clients qualify for the financial awards they should have.

Actual Settlement Awards We’ve Won for Our Clients in Rear-End Collisions

At Tyroler Leonard Injury Law, we have a strong track record of success. We’ve won hundreds of settlements and injury awards for our clients during our collective decades serving injured people. With our help, clients have received multiple six-figure awards over the years after a rear-end accident, including:

$175,000 for neck and back injuries
$150,000 for neck injuries
$150,000 for a fatal stroke that occurred after a rear-end accident.

Do such awards represent the average settlement for a rear-end collision? No, as these are just a few awards we won for our clients in this type of crash. If someone suffered more severe injuries, such as a TBI, that person might be eligible to win a larger amount than what appears on our list of awards we’ve won for our clients. We’ve also won smaller awards for clients who suffered minor injuries in rear-end crashes.

Call Tyroler Leonard Injury Law Today for a Free Case Review

Rather than providing you with an average settlement amount for a rear-end collision that almost certainly doesn’t apply to your particular situation, we instead may be able to provide you with an estimate of what we think your particular case could be worth. We cannot promise that we will win a certain amount for you, but we can use the basic facts of your case and the experience we’ve had with cases similar to yours to potentially deliver an estimate.

To learn more about how our St. Paul car accident lawyers can help with your rear-end accident injury lawsuit and to see if we can provide you with an estimate, reach out to Tyroler Leonard Injury Law today. We provide a free consultation to explain how we believe we can help you, but you are under no obligation to hire us afterward.

Attorney Isaac Tyroler

Attorney Isaac Tyroler has been a strong advocate for injured people his entire legal career. He has a passion for righting wrongs, and he deeply cares about representing injured clients who may feel overwhelmed or uncertain about how to navigate the legal system. He is compassionate toward clients and aggressive with insurance companies and defendants. He is on the elected Board of Governors of the Minnesota Association of Justice (MAJ), the top personal injury lawyers’ group in Minnesota. And is currently the chair of MAJ’s legislative committee. [ Attorney Bio ]