If you were in a car accident and you think you want to settle it yourself, below are the steps to follow. 

But you should first consider how badly you were hurt, and whether the other driver clearly was at fault. If your injuries run into the thousands of dollars and/or fault is questionable, you may want to hire a personal injury attorney.

That said, here are the steps to follow to settle your car accident case: 

• Take photos of the property damage, scene of the crash, and your injuries. 
• Obtain a copy of the police report. 
• Get the medical treatment you need as soon as you can
• Do not provide a recorded statement to the other driver’s insurance company. 
• Do not use social media to talk about your accident. 

Next:

• Calculate your 'special damages,' which are your medical bills and lost work time. 
• Calculate your 'general damages,' which refers to your pain and suffering. Pain and suffering is often calculated using a multiplier between 1-5. One is for minor injuries, and 5 is for serious and even permanent injuries. Most pain and suffering injuries in car accidents are valued at 2 or 3. That number is then multiplied by your special damages. 

Once you have completed the above steps, you will send a demand letter to the other driver’s insurance company. Your demand letter should include: 

• Why the defendant is liable for your injuries. 
• The nature and extent of your injuries and the medical treatment you had.
• Financial losses caused by the accident. 
• Pain and suffering. 

The insurance company may respond with a low offer, but do not take it. This is the starting point for negotiations. Make a counteroffer and continue to negotiate until you get what you think is a fair settlement. If you feel the insurer is offering too little, consider hiring a personal injury attorney. 

In a car accident case, there are two types of damages available to the injured party. These are economic (special) and non-economic (general) damages. 

Special damages are simple to calculate because they involve your property damage, medical bills, and lost earnings. They are easy to calculate. General damages refer to pain and suffering, which means physical pain and discomfort, but also emotional stress and anxiety. 

It is hard to determine what pain and suffering is worth. But insurance companies usually rely on one of two approaches. 

The first is the multiplier method. This is where the company adds up your economic damages, and multiplies then by 1.5 to 5, depending on the severity of your injuries, recovery time and whether the driver was clearly in the wrong. 

Other insurers may use the daily rate or per diem approach. This method assigns a certain dollar amount for each day you have to live with the pain of the accident. You can ensure your per diem rate is ‘reasonable’ by comparing it to what you earn in your job each day. 

If you are trying to negotiate your own settlement, use both the multiplier and per diem approaches and see what you come up with. If they are very different, that is fine. At the end of it all, you will need to negotiate that number with the insurance company. At least you have a ballpark range of what you should settle for. If you have questions or are feeling uncertain, have a personal injury attorney represent you. 

Here are some ways you can maximize the compensation you receive for your car accident settlement:Here are some ways you can maximize the compensation you receive for your car accident settlement:

• Take pictures: They say a picture is worth 1000 words – never is that more true than when negotiating a car accident settlement. Make sure to get pictures of everything you can – your car, their car, road conditions, traffic signs, etc.
• Watch what you say: Sometimes a simple explanation or apology can be misconstrued as an admission of guilt. Don’t say you’re sorry, or you should have been paying more attention, or say you were distracted. Your words can and will be used against you.
• Seek medical treatment immediately after the car accident. If you delay, the at fault driver's insurance company may try to claim that you're not that seriously injured. Also having documented medical expenses will make your car accident claim stronger and easier to prove.
• Make sure you're fully healed before writing a demand letter and asking for a settlement amount. If you accept a settlement before you're 100% and then lingering injuries pop up and/or get worse, you'll have no recourse and will be forced to pay out of pocket for any subsequent medical expenses.
• Get help: It’s always a good idea to speak to a lawyer who can help you better understand your situation, potential damages, and other ways to maximize your auto accident settlement. Almost all personal injury attorneys will give a free consultation, so there is no harm in getting an expert opinion or two.

Additionally, documenting all aspects of the case — including medical expenses, lost wages due to being unable to work, and property damage — can help strengthen any potential claim for increased compensation.

In the US, the average settlement for a car accident is somewhere around $20,000, maybe $25,000, depending on who’s stats you go by. One thing to keep in mind about averages, is that they’re often skewed by a few outliers, and this is certainly the case with car accident settlements. Just like if Bill Gates or Jeff Bezos walked into a room, the average net worth in that room would instantly go up by millions, a handful of multi-million dollar settlements bring the average number up quite a bit… so when factoring that in, the average “average car accident” settlement is probably closer to $15,000 or so.

The decision to hire a lawyer for a car accident settlement depends on a number of things. Mostly, it comes down to the severity of the accident and related injuries, as well as your faith in your ability to negotiate & desire to deal directly with insurance companies. Here are a few questions you can ask yourself to determine the answer to this question:

• How serious was the accident, injuries, and impact on my life (i.e. ability to work, enjoy normal activities, etc)?
• Do I have the time and/or desire to deal with both parties’ insurance companies, possibly for months?
• Do I know enough to negotiate a fair car accident settlement for myself? Or…
• Do I think a lawyer will get me substantially more money that I would get on my own?

Once you have honestly answered these questions, you should have a good idea which direction to go. As a general rule, the more serious the accident and injuries, the more likely it’s in your best interest to hire an attorney - their experience in knowing what damages to ask for and how to talk to the insurance company can make a big difference in negotiating the highest car accident settlement possible, which can often pay for itself even after attorney fees, and save you a lot of time & stress in the process.