What is a Normal Rear-end Collision Case Worth?

By The Cagle Law Firm | October 28, 2025 | Car Accidents, Featured, Personal Injury

Often, injured people contact us and ask “What is the average pay-out for a rear-end collision?”  If you’ve been injured in a rear-end motor vehicle collision, then you have wondered what amount of compensation you might be able to recover.  The average payout for a rear-end collision varies greatly upon several factors including extent of your injuries, extent of the property damage and coverage.  This blog post will talk about the various circumstances that make each rear-end collision and help you evaluate your payout.

Additionally, people often call and want to know what the average personal injury settlement in St. Louis, Missouri? While we would love to be able to give “averages”, but, the term “average” means you as the injured person is “average”. What is the saying? “Everyone wants to be normal but no one wants to be average.'”   I believe what most people are asking is what factors impact their case value and what kind of expectations they should have.  Those vary from client to client involving the facts of how the collision occurred, severity of the injuries, and insurance coverage.

Rear-End Collisions

A rear-end collision occurs when one vehicle collides with the rear of another vehicle. Often many believe that if a car rear-ends us then it is a cut-and-dry case.  We would advise to not be overly confident that the other driver’s insurance company will see it that way.  The other driver’s insurance carrier may say you stopped short or caused the rear-ending.  Maybe the other driver at the scene was super nice and apologized and said they just couldn’t get stopped in time. They may have even admitted fault at the scene. Don’t assume because the driver said that at the scene that all will go well with that driver’s insurance carrier. We have over 20 years of experience of negotiating and litigation with these insurance carriers when the client and other driver “thought it was pretty clear”.   If you’re hurt, get legal help.

Factors that Impact Payout for Rear-End Crashes

THERE IS NO FIXED OR AVERAGE PAYOUT AMOUNT for a rear-end collision.  Minor injuries that result in bruising or swelling tend to the lower range of settlement. Serious injuries such as fractures, concussions and herniated discs can result in much higher compensation.  If your injury requires extensive medical treatment and/or surgery, the payout can be much higher.

• Severity of the Injuries.  Whether you are in a rear-end crash or a head-on collision, the severity of your injuries is always the most important factor in a case.  Makes sense, as it is the most important thing to every one of our clients.  Vehicles can be repaired or replaced, people cannot.  It is one thing to be rear-ended at a low rate of speed and quite another to be rear-ended by a large vehicle at a high rate of speed.  We are all human beings and at various ages.  Physics of a rear-end crash still focuses a force upon one’s body.  The speed and size of the vehicle can impact that force
• Medical Expenses.  Your medical bills are a huge factor in calculating the payout for your rear-end collision.  Medical bills include emergency room visits, hospital stays, surgeries, therapies and medication. In serious injury cases, the injury is permanent. Meaning, if you have to go through a spine surgery, you may get a great medical result but that hardware is in fact, permanent.  Permanent injuries and whether they impact your ability to return to your job and regular family life is a huge factor in a case.
• Lost Wages. When someone is physically injured, they may not be able to return to work for a period of time, have to take time off for surgeries and therapies or worse, may not be able to return to that line of work.
• Property Damage. The extent of the property damage is another factor that can influence your payout.  If there was significant property damage, the costs will be higher to repair or replace the vehicle of course.  The property damage is not always synonymous with the physical injury.  We have had clients that suffered through spinal fusion surgery after a rear-end collision and in a couple of situations, we have represented the family of someone who died in a rear-end crash in the city limits.
• Pain & Suffering.  In addition to physical injuries (medical costs), victims of rear-end collisions may experience pain and suffering, emotional distress and reduced quality of life.  Hint, an insurance adjuster is not great at evaluating the pain and suffering in your case as they are not always too great about recognizing a permanent injury.

Insurance Coverage

Insurance coverage is the large elephant in the room.  Missouri follows a “fault-based” system for car accidents, meaning that the person responsible for the accident is liable for the resulting damages.  Their insurance covers this, but the amount of coverage they have will impact the payout.  For instance, if they only have the minimum coverage of $25K and you have an injury that needs surgery, $25K-$50K will not begin to make you right.

Missouri law requires drivers to carry a minimum of $25,000 liability insurance for injuries to one person, $50,000 per accident and $25,000 for property damage. If the at fault driver has insufficient insurance coverage, you may need to seek compensation through your own insurance policy for file a lawsuit.  In case you have not priced medical treatment lately, $25-50K does not go very far if you are very hut.  Thus, it is essential that you carry full coverage auto insurance.  While we know that might not seem fair, it is practical advice. We are required by law to carry liability insurance. If your vehicle is not paid off, you are required to carry full coverage insurance. “Full coverage insurance” is an interesting term. It can mean you have as little as $50-100K, $500K or millions in coverage.  There are many who are not really familiar with all of the ins and outs of their insurance policy.  People don’t read insurance policies for fun. You can check out some easy insurance explanations:  Need for Underinsured Motorist Coverage|The Cagle Law Firm

We fight insurance companies so it does pain us some to advise people to buy more insurance.  However, if you are injured, a skilled car accident attorney will look for every avenue of potential coverage to pursue.  If you are hurt, you will need an attorney to do that for you.

Legal Consultations Are Always Free

We don’t take every case because not every person in a crash is seriously injured.  However, even if you do not need our legal practice, we love giving free information to assist you in avoiding getting duped by the insurance.  We often say that the only STUPID question is the one not asked.  When consultations are free, why not take advantage of free legal advice.  You have rights and you want to protect those rights.  We can help you do that. If you are hurt, it is going to be a project of quite a few months of healing and headache dealing with an insurance adjuster (even if it is is your own insurance company).  Let our attorneys develop a plan for you and help you through this difficult process.  when you become a client of The Cagle Law Firm, you have full time service and concentration on your best interest. Our results for our clients speak for themselves.

Call us seven days a week 1.800.685.3302 or locally 314.276.1681

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