Effective 6 November 2026.
Injury Handbook gives general information only. It is not legal, tax or medical advice, and it is not a substitute for the advice of an attorney.
General information only
Everything on Injury Handbook (injuryhandbook.com) is general information, published to help readers understand how injury claims, insurance claims and wrongful death claims work in the US. It is not legal advice, and it does not take your accident, your injuries, your insurance, your location or your circumstances into account. It is not a substitute for the advice of an attorney who knows your facts and your state’s law. Ask a lawyer or the court about your situation.
Not a law firm
Injury Handbook is not a law firm. It does not offer legal services, represent anyone or refer anyone to a lawyer. Reading this site, using a calculator or writing to us does not create an attorney-client relationship. What you send us is not confidential or privileged the way a conversation with your own lawyer can be.
No view on your claim
Nothing on this site says what your claim is worth, what you will receive, whether you would win, or whether you should sue, settle, accept or reject an offer, or hire a lawyer. Those are decisions for you, with advice from someone who knows your case.
Rules vary by state
There is no single US injury law. Time limits, fault rules, no-fault insurance, notice rules for claims against a government, rules for minors, damage caps, wrongful death rules, liens and fee rules differ from state to state, and federal law adds its own rules for some claims. The state where the accident happened, where a suit is filed, who the claim is against and what kind of claim it is can all change the answer. A rule on a page for one state does not apply in another. Where we have not read a state’s rule, the page says “not confirmed”, and that tells you nothing about what the rule is.
Deadlines can be shorter than a table shows
A missed deadline can end a claim, however strong it is. The time limit in a state table is the general rule for one kind of claim. Your deadline may be earlier. A claim against a city, county, state or federal body can need written notice within months. Medical malpractice, wrongful death, claims for minors, insurance policy terms and other special rules can set different or shorter periods, or start the clock on a different day. Whether a period is paused or extended, and when it starts, depends on the facts and on how courts read the statute.
Our deadline pages and tools show the rule, the statute, the date we read it and the exceptions we have read. They never tell you what your deadline is. Do not wait until the last day a table shows. Nothing on this site, and no message to us, stops a deadline running. If a deadline may be close, contact a lawyer, the court or a legal aid office now.
The law changes
Statutes, court decisions, insurance rules and agency guidance change, sometimes with little notice, and a new law can apply to some accidents or lawsuits and not others. Each state figure shows the day we read it, and it may have changed since. Check the current rule with the original source, the court or a lawyer before you rely on it.
No average settlement figures
We publish no average, typical or usual settlement amounts, because we found no public dataset that supports them. Worked examples use round numbers labelled as examples. They are not predictions, and they say nothing about what any claim is worth.
Calculators
Calculators do arithmetic on what you enter and on the rules and assumptions they show. Their results are estimates. They do not say what a claim is worth, what you will receive, what you owe or what your deadline is. A policy, a lien, a fee agreement, a court order or a state rule can change the answer.
Tax
Notes on how settlements are taxed are general and name the IRS source and edition they come from. They are not tax advice. Ask a tax professional about your own settlement and return.
Not medical advice
We give no diagnosis, treatment or symptom advice. Follow your doctor or other treating clinician. In an emergency, call 911.
Letters and forms
We host no letters, releases, claim forms or templates. Where a page lists what a letter or claim usually covers, that list does not replace a required government or court form, and it may not meet the rules that apply to you. Get forms from the agency or court.
Accuracy
Pages are checked against the sources they cite, but no check catches everything. Check important details with the original source before you rely on them. See also our terms of use.
How our content is made
Every page is fact-checked against its sources before it is published. Pages appear under the Injury Handbook name. Our editorial policy and how we check page explain the process.
Advertising and independence
Injury Handbook is funded by display advertising. Advertisers have no say over what we publish, and an ad on a page, including an ad for a law firm, an insurer or a lender, is not an endorsement or a referral. We use no affiliate links, accept no paid placements, sell no leads, make no lawyer referrals and offer or link to no settlement loans. Names of companies, agencies, courts and publishers are used only to identify them, and we are not affiliated with them.
External links
We link to statutes, courts, agencies and other websites so you can check what we say. We do not control those sites and are not responsible for their content.
Questions and corrections
If you think something is wrong, email contact@injuryhandbook.com with the page address and a source, and we will look at it. We can’t answer questions about individual cases. See also our corrections page.