How do I know how much to ask for in a personal injury settlement?

When you complete your medical treatment and are released by the doctor or are declared by the doctor to be permanent and stationary which means having a reached a point in your medical treatment where no further improvement is anticipated, obtain your medical bills, medical reports and documentation of any wage loss.  Your personal injury claim filed with the at-fault party's insurance carrier should include these items.  Compensation for the medical bills is straight reimbursement.  Compensation for wage loss is straight reimbursement.  The medical reports will document the nature and extent of your injuries and will be used to determine compensation for pain and suffering which is an amount in addition to the medical bills.  There isn't any mathematical formula for determining compensation for pain and suffering.  It just depends on the facts of the case such as if you are having residual complaints after completing your medical treatment, you would be entitled to additional compensation compared to someone who has fully recovered.  If the medical reports state that you will need future treatment, the estimated cost of the future treatment discounted to present value should be included in the compensation you receive as a settlement.  I would normally ask for quadruple the medical bills to compensate for pain and suffering, but NOT expecting to get that.  This would be a starting point in negotiations with the insurance company.  The insurance company will respond with a lower offer and you can continue negotiations to try to obtain an additional amount from the insurance carrier.  If you are dissatisfied with settlement offers from the insurance company, reject the settlement offers and file a lawsuit for negligence against the at fault party.  If the case is settled with the insurance company, NO lawsuit is filed.  If the case is NOT settled with the insurance company, you will need to file your lawsuit for negligence against the at fault party prior to the expiration of the applicable statute of limitations or you will lose your rights forever in the matter.