Average Settlement for a Broken Bone in a Car Accident, 2026 Report
Insurers paid an average of $28,278 on every auto bodily injury liability claim closed in 2024, and claims involving broken bones fall near the upper end of that range because a fracture leaves objective proof that an adjuster struggles to dispute.
Our research team worked only from primary records. We compared insurer closed-claim severity data with federal crash investigation results. National injury cost estimates then showed what each severity level actually costs. We then checked each figure against the New York State statutes that control what a fracture claim recovers. The sections below show what actually moves the number.
Note: The figures in this report are averages and do not predict what any individual broken-bone claim may be worth. Every car accident case is unique. Only an attorney who reviews the complete file and understands the facts and circumstances of the case can evaluate its potential value.
Key Takeaways:
- The average paid auto bodily injury liability claim reached $28,278 in 2024, a 36% climb from $20,769 in 2020.
- A suspected serious injury carries an average economic cost of $174,000, close to four times the $45,000 cost of a suspected minor injury.
- Upper extremity fractures show up in 43.5% of injured car drivers in trauma registry research, making the arm the most commonly broken region behind the wheel.
- New York State names a fracture as a serious injury under Insurance Law § 5102(d), which clears the threshold for a pain and suffering claim.
Important Consideration: These averages blend every injury level into one number, so a documented fracture case starts well above the typical claim.
What Insurers Pay on Injury Claims
Closed-claim severity gives the clearest starting point for any car accident injury payout, because it reports what insurers actually paid out across the whole claim population. The figure rose every year for five straight years.
Our data indicates the following trend:
| Year | Average bodily injury liability claim | Average property damage claim |
| 2020 | $20,769 | $4,703 |
| 2021 | $23,592 | $5,036 |
| 2022 | $24,681 | $6,024 |
| 2023 | $26,178 | $6,554 |
| 2024 | $28,278 | $6,770 |
Key Insights
- Bodily injury claim severity rose $7,509 across five years, outpacing property damage growth by a wide margin.
- These averages blend every injury level into one number, so a documented fracture case starts well above the typical claim.
How Injury Severity Changes the Payout
Severity influences value more than any other factor in a broken-bone claim. A fracture repaired with surgical hardware generates treatment costs an adjuster must price, and the permanent limitation that follows raises the figure again.
The table below shows what each police-reported severity level costs on average:
| Police-reported injury level | Average economic cost | Average comprehensive cost |
| Death | $2,050,000 | $14,393,000 |
| Suspected serious injury | $174,000 | $1,167,000 |
| Suspected minor injury | $45,000 | $253,000 |
| Possible injury | $28,000 | $138,000 |
| No injury observed | $7,700 | $19,000 |
Key Insights
- Moving from a suspected minor injury to a suspected serious injury multiplies the economic cost by nearly four.
- Economic cost measures documented out-of-pocket loss, setting a floor for a claim before anyone prices pain and suffering.
Which Bones Break in Car Crashes
Fracture location affects claim value, since a broken femur keeps someone out of work far longer than a broken wrist. A trauma registry study of more than 10,000 road-crash fracture patients tracked where those fractures occurred according to each person’s role in the crash.
Our analysis below breaks that pattern down:
| Fracture site | Car driver | Car passenger | Pedestrian struck by a car |
| Upper extremity | 43.5% | 43.0% | 73.1% |
| Lower extremity | 43.2% | 46.5% | 29.9% |
| Head | 26.9% | 21.2% | 12.1% |
| Spine | 20.2% | 14.6% | 4.5% |
| Thorax | 17.1% | 12.6% | 3.6% |
Key Insights
- Pedestrians absorb upper extremity fractures at nearly double the driver rate, because an outstretched arm meets the vehicle first.
- Drivers have the highest spine fracture rate of any car occupant, and a spinal fracture often leaves the permanent limitation that drives claim value upward.
How Often Crashes Cause Serious Injury
Most people walk away from a crash, and that reality works in favor of anyone who did break a bone. Federal investigators sampled real crashes through 2024 and graded every injury on the Abbreviated Injury Scale.
The table below shows how rarely injuries reach the serious end:
| Injury level | Injured occupants | Share of injured occupants |
| Any injury | 1,265,043 | 100% |
| Serious | 59,823 | 4.7% |
| Severe | 10,574 | 0.8% |
| Critical | 5,531 | 0.4% |
| Maximal | 2,258 | 0.2% |
Key Insights
- Only 6.2% of injured occupants sustain an injury graded serious or worse, which puts major fracture cases in a small group.
- Roughly one in four occupants of a towed passenger vehicle reports any injury at all.
What New York State Law Allows
New York State rules determine how much of a broken-bone claim ever reaches a jury. A fracture has a distinct advantage here because the statute names it outright.
Our research below shows each rule that shapes the payout:
| Rule | Effect on a broken bone claim | Limit |
| No-fault basic economic loss, Insurance Law § 5102(a) | Pays treatment costs regardless of who caused the crash | Up to $50,000 per person |
| Serious injury threshold, Insurance Law § 5102(d) | Lists a fracture as a serious injury, opening a pain and suffering claim | No dollar limit |
| Minimum bodily injury liability coverage | Sets the least an at-fault driver must carry for one injured person | $25,000 |
| Minimum coverage for two or more injured people | Caps what one policy pays across everyone hurt in a single crash | $50,000 |
| Comparative fault, CPLR 1411(b) | Bars recovery when your share of fault exceeds the other driver’s | Recovery barred |
Key Insights
- A fracture clears the serious injury threshold on its own, so a broken bone case avoids the fight that other car accident claims face.
- A minimum policy of $25,000 often falls short of a surgical fracture, so it’s worth checking your policy for underinsured motorist coverage.
Note: New York’s coverage limits and serious-injury rules do not determine the value or outcome of every fracture claim. This report provides general information, not legal advice or a valuation of any specific case. Because every case is different, only an attorney who understands the complete file and the facts and circumstances of the claim can assess its potential value.
Further Reading
- Car Accident Settlements in New York
- Average Settlements for Car Accident Back and Neck Injuries
- Average Settlement for Rear-End Collision
- What Percent Do Lawyers Get in Settlements?
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