Quick Answer
There is no formula. Personal injury case value depends on injury severity, total past and future medical bills, lost wages and lost earning capacity, liability evidence strength, the at-fault party’s available insurance and assets, and whether the case is trial-ready. Khashayar Law Group case results range from $4 million wrongful death settlements to a $61.5 million jury verdict.
Reviewed by Daryoosh Khashayar, ABOTA Member, founder and managing partner of Khashayar Law Group — Last updated May 2026.
Personal injury case value in California is the sum of two categories of damages: economic damages (medical bills, lost income, future care, household services, property damage) and non-economic damages (pain and suffering, emotional distress, loss of enjoyment of life, loss of consortium). In cases involving oppression, fraud, or malice — including drunk driving and intentional harm — California Civil Code §3294 allows punitive damages on top.
Five factors drive every personal injury valuation: (1) injury severity and permanence, (2) total documented medical expenses and projected future care, (3) lost wages and lost earning capacity, (4) the strength of liability evidence under California’s pure comparative negligence rule (Civil Code §1714), and (5) the depth of available insurance coverage and defendant assets. The same broken leg can be worth $50,000 or $5,000,000 depending on how those five factors stack up.
The single largest predictor of case value is whether the attorney across the table from the defendant’s insurer will actually take the case to trial. Daryoosh Khashayar is a member of the American Board of Trial Advocates (ABOTA), a credential that requires verified jury trial experience and judicial recommendations. Insurance carriers rate every claim partly on that trial readiness. The firm’s case results include a $61.5 million jury verdict, a $5 million truck-accident settlement, and a $4.9 million auto-accident settlement.
Economic damages are the documentable, out-of-pocket losses caused by the injury. They include:
California has no cap on economic damages outside of medical malpractice cases governed by MICRA (Civil Code §3333.2).
California allows non-economic damages for pain and suffering, emotional distress, loss of enjoyment of life, scarring and disfigurement, loss of consortium, and the inability to engage in activities you previously enjoyed. There is no statutory formula. Juries are instructed to award what they determine is reasonable based on the evidence.
Defense insurers commonly try to use a “multiplier” (typically 1.5x to 5x the economic damages) to suggest a range. That is a negotiation tactic, not a legal rule. Severe injuries with permanent disability frequently produce non-economic damages many times the economic component. The single category capped in California is medical malpractice non-economic damages under MICRA.
Punitive damages are available under California Civil Code §3294 when the defendant’s conduct involved oppression, fraud, or malice. Common situations:
Punitive damages must be supported by clear and convincing evidence and bear a reasonable relationship to the compensatory damages. The U.S. Supreme Court has effectively capped most punitive awards at 9-10 times the compensatory damages.
Insurance companies maintain databases on opposing counsel. They know which attorneys actually take cases to verdict and which routinely settle for the first reasonable offer. A trial-ready attorney across the table changes the entire risk calculus on the defense side. Daryoosh Khashayar’s $61.5 million jury verdict against a multi-billion-dollar insurance company is the kind of result that reshapes how insurers value every subsequent case the firm handles.
This FAQ relates to our Automobile Accidents, Truck Accidents, Wrongful Death, and Medical Malpractice practice areas. For a free case valuation, call (858) 509-1550.