- May 5, 2025
- Tucker Law
- Car Accident Lawsuits
Are you looking for a car accident cost estimate?
The cost of living is rising across the board these days, and the price of a crash on the road isn’t getting any cheaper. If you’ve recently been in a crash, you need to be prepared for expenses related to medical treatment, vehicle repair or replacement, other property damage, and incidental expenses. Additionally, your earnings may take a hit if you need to spend time out of work.
In times like these, the last thing you need are huge expenses (especially when you’re not to blame for the accident). If you’re curious about how to pursue compensation related to your crash, you should schedule a free initial consultation with our legal team.
Your Car Accident Cost Estimate
Car accidents incur several categories of expenses. The more serious your accident, the higher you can expect your overall costs to be. The National Safety Council (NSC) reported that, in 2022, the average economic cost for a disabling injury following a road accident was approximately $162,000.
Medical Expenses
Following an accident, you may face emergency room visits, hospital stays, surgeries, and medication costs. However, in more serious cases, these costs might be just the beginning.
Some injuries require long-term care, including physical therapy, rehabilitation, and follow-up appointments. In the most severe cases, you could require accident-related care for the rest of your life. These treatments can accumulate substantial costs over time.
Some of the most serious road accident cases our attorneys have worked on have involved six-figure payouts for medical costs alone.
Lost Wages and Earning Capacity
Ask any investment expert what your most valuable asset is and they’ll usually mention your income. The money you earn (and your ability to keep earning it) is the biggest factor dictating your ability to pay your bills. Unfortunately, a car accident can easily prevent you from making money.
There are a few different things affecting how great a loss this will be in your case; not all are directly accident-related.
The first, and most obvious, is the size of your salary. You stand to lose a lot more if you usually earn $25,000 a month than if you make $2,500.
Also relevant is the nature of your work. If you’re a knowledge worker, you could be back at your desk right after your crash, even if you’re still recovering from your injuries. However, if your work is highly physical (if you work in construction, say), the same set of injuries could see you sidelined for a lot longer.
Severe injuries might limit your ability to perform your job as before, potentially leading to an indefinitely reduced earning capacity. It can be much more difficult to seek compensation for this type of loss than for earnings you’ve already missed out on, as it will require your legal team to present a forecast of the extent of your injuries and their effect on your working life into the future. The insurance company involved in your case will do whatever it can to dispute this forecast and minimize the amount of money it needs to pay you.
This is why it’s crucial to work with an attorney who knows how to build an effective case and fight for as big a settlement as possible on your behalf.
Property Damage
Even the most minor road accidents can cause expensive vehicle damage. If someone scratches your bumper in a parking lot, the repairs will likely cost you several hundred dollars. More serious cosmetic damage can easily stretch into the thousands, while issues affecting the car’s roadworthiness can cost five-figure repair sums. At a certain point, it will be more cost-effective to replace your car than repair it.
According to the NSC, the average cost for property damage per vehicle was about $6,100 in 2022.
Beyond your vehicle, personal items like electronics or clothing damaged in the accident add to your expenses.
The value of your vehicle and other property may be a bigger factor here than the seriousness of your accident. It could be more expensive to conduct minor repairs on a luxury vehicle than to completely replace a 10-year-old car.
How Insurance Comes Into Play
Insurance may cover some of the costs we’ve looked at here. However, it rarely covers everything, and the process can get messy fast.
New York’s No-Fault System
New York is a no-fault insurance state, which means your own insurance pays for basic economic losses after an accident, no matter who was at fault. This coverage comes from your Personal Injury Protection (PIP) policy and typically includes:
- Medical bills up to $50,000 per person
- Lost wages, generally capped at 80% of your income (up to $2,000/month for three years)
- Other necessary expenses, like transportation to medical appointments.
PIP doesn’t cover noneconomic damages like pain and suffering; you can recover these only by filing a personal injury lawsuit.
When You Can Sue Beyond No-Fault
If your injuries are serious enough—think broken bones, permanent limitations, or significant disfigurement—you can step outside the no-fault system and file a personal injury claim against the at-fault driver. That opens the door to compensation for:
- Pain and suffering
- Full lost earnings, beyond the PIP limits
- Future medical costs and care needs.
Your attorney will determine whether your injury meets the threshold required to sue, and, if so, they’ll go after the other driver’s liability insurance. If you visit us for a free initial consultation, we’ll be able to tell you more about likely next steps based on your circumstances.
Seeking Comprehensive Compensation After a Car Accident
The financial impact of car accidents is no joke. If you’ve had a car accident and you’re not sure what to do next, we can help.
Contact Tucker Lawyers today to schedule a free initial consultation about your case. You can reach us by filling out our online contact form or by calling (516) 399-2364. Don’t delay; the sooner you start the process, the better your chances will be of recovering all your accident-related costs.
Managing Attorney John. J. Tucker, Esq.
John has personally handled thousands of clients who were victims of another’s negligence and fights relentlessly for their rights. John enjoys bringing closure to a client’s matter so that the injured party can move forward with their life. His background enables him to evaluate complex liability related claims and bring resolution to claims in a record time frame. [ Attorney Bio ]