What Is the Workers Comp Settlement Calculator?
The workers comp settlement calculator above answers the question every injured worker is asking: what is my case actually worth? You pick your state and the body part you injured, enter your average weekly wage and your impairment rating, and the tool shows you the value your state assigns to that injury, your estimated weekly benefit, and a realistic settlement range — in seconds, with no contact form and nothing collected or stored.
You would use it the moment an insurer puts an offer in front of you, the day a doctor hands you an impairment rating, or any time you want to know what a back, shoulder, knee, or hand injury is worth where you live. Instead of guessing from a national average that may be wrong for your state, you get a number built from your own state’s law. The tool runs entirely in your browser, free, with no email gate.
Verified June 2026 · sourced to each state’s workers’ compensation statute and board
How to Use the Workers Comp Settlement Calculator
The tool is built to be quick. Start by choosing your state — this is the single most important choice, because benefit caps and the value of each injury are set state by state, and they are not close to the same from one state to the next.
Next, enter your average weekly wage (your gross pay, usually averaged over the year before your injury), choose the body part you injured from the list, and add your impairment or disability rating if a doctor has given you one. If you do not have a rating yet, leave it blank and the calculator will show you a range instead. Finally, tell it whether surgery was involved, since surgery often raises both the rating and the value of a case.
Your results appear instantly: the number of weeks your state assigns to that injury, your estimated weekly benefit rate, and an estimated settlement value or range. If your injury is not on your state’s fixed schedule, the workers comp settlement calculator tells you so plainly and shows the realistic wage-loss range your state’s rules produce instead. From there you can see how much workers comp pays each week with our workers comp pay calculator, or read the full picture in our complete guide to workers comp settlements.
How Workers Comp Settlements Are Calculated
Most workers comp settlements for a permanent injury are built from three pieces: the body part you injured, your impairment rating (the percentage a doctor assigns once you have healed as much as you are going to), and your weekly benefit rate — usually two-thirds of your average weekly wage, capped at your state’s maximum. In a scheduled state, the calculator multiplies the weeks your state assigns to that body part by your rating by your weekly rate to reach a value.
Here is the part most calculators hide: states do not all do it the same way. About half use a fixed “schedule” — a set number of weeks for an arm, a hand, a leg, and so on. The rest use a whole-body impairment percentage, a monthly benefit, or a flat dollar award, and a few do not put backs, necks, or shoulders on a schedule at all.
When your injury is not on your state’s fixed list, the calculator does not invent a precise figure — it shows the realistic range your state’s wage-loss rules produce and tells you the injury is handled case by case. That honesty matters most for back and shoulder injuries, which are both the most common and the most variable.
One more thing the tool accounts for: the weekly cap on a permanent award is, in several states, far lower than the cap while you are recovering — and a handful of states run their own monopolistic fund where coverage exists only through the state. The workers comp settlement calculator applies the right cap and the right method for the state you choose, so the estimate reflects how that state actually pays.
Is Your Settlement Offer Fair?
If an insurer has already put a number in front of you, the most useful thing you can do is compare it against what your state’s law actually provides for your injury and rating — which is exactly what the estimate above is for. A settlement almost always closes your claim for good, including future medical treatment for that injury, so a number that looks fine today can fall short later. If the offer sits well below the range the calculator shows, that gap is worth understanding before you sign anything.
Many injured workers settle for less than their case is worth simply because no one told them the range. If your offer looks low, you can talk through your options with a workers’ compensation attorney — most offer a free consultation and do not charge unless you recover.
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How the Workers Comp Settlement Calculator Gets Its Information
The workers comp settlement calculator is built on each state’s own workers’ compensation statute and official board — not guesswork and not a generic national table. The body-part values, benefit caps, wage-replacement percentages, and calculation methods all come from the same primary sources a state agency or an attorney would cite, and every state was checked against its own law rather than copied from a one-size-fits-all chart.
Benefit caps change every year — most states adjust them each summer — so the figures are re-checked on a fixed schedule, which is why you see a “Verified” date on the result. You can confirm your own state’s office through the U.S. Department of Labor’s directory of state workers’ compensation officials.
One honest note: this tool gives an estimate of the permanent-disability and weekly-benefit portions of a case. A real settlement can also include future medical care, unpaid past benefits, and a disputed-claim discount, which depend on facts a calculator cannot see. For the official rules in your state, your state workers’ compensation board is the authoritative source, and a licensed attorney can tell you how the law applies to your specific claim.
Frequently Asked Questions
How are workers comp settlements calculated?
For a permanent injury, the core formula in most states is the number of weeks your state assigns to that body part, multiplied by your impairment rating, multiplied by your weekly benefit rate (typically two-thirds of your average weekly wage, capped at the state maximum). States that do not use a body-part schedule use a whole-body impairment percentage, a monthly benefit, or a dollar award instead. Your final settlement may also fold in future medical costs and any unpaid past benefits.
How much is my back injury worth in workers comp?
Backs, necks, and shoulders are the hardest to put a single number on, because many states do not place them on a fixed schedule — they are paid based on how much earning power you lost, not a set body-part value. That is why the workers comp settlement calculator shows a realistic range for those injuries in your state rather than one figure, and why back cases vary so widely from person to person.
Does a higher impairment rating mean a bigger settlement?
Generally yes. Your rating is a direct multiplier in most states’ formulas, so the difference between a 5% and a 15% rating can be large. Because the rating drives the money, it is also the figure insurers most often dispute — a second opinion sometimes changes it.
Is a workers comp settlement paid all at once?
Often, but not always. Many permanent-disability awards are paid as a lump sum; some states pay weekly or monthly, and a few let you choose. The calculator shows the total value, and how it is paid out depends on your state and your agreement.
What if I do not have an impairment rating yet?
Leave the rating blank and the tool will show you a range based on your state and injury. You typically receive a rating only after you reach maximum medical improvement — the point where your doctor decides your condition is as good as it is going to get — so it is normal not to have one early in a claim.
Should I accept the first settlement offer?
Not automatically. Because a settlement usually closes your claim for good, it is worth confirming the offer matches what your state’s law provides before you accept. The estimate above is a starting point for that comparison, and a free consultation with an attorney can tell you whether an offer is in the right range.
You can bookmark this page and come back any time you get a new offer, a new rating, or simply want to know what an injury is worth in your state. The workers comp settlement calculator will decode the number for you, show your weekly benefit, and tell you honestly when an injury falls outside the fixed schedule — so a question that once meant hours of digging through statutes becomes a two-minute answer.
Disclaimer. This calculator and page are provided for general informational purposes only and do not constitute legal, financial, or insurance advice. The estimates describe how workers’ compensation benefits are typically calculated, but every case is different and the exact value depends on your state, your medical evidence, and facts a calculator cannot see. Before you rely on any figure or accept a settlement offer, confirm the details with your state workers’ compensation board and a licensed attorney.