Idaho Personal Injury Settlement Calculator

How the Estimate Works

No tool can predict a settlement — every case is different and the number depends on the facts, the available insurance, the venue, and negotiation. What this calculator does is apply the multiplier method, the rough starting point insurers and attorneys use: it adds up your economic damages (medical bills, lost wages, property damage), then estimates pain and suffering as a multiple of those damages (about 1.5× for minor injuries up to 5× or more for catastrophic ones), and shows a wide range. It is a way to understand value, not a guarantee.

It then applies Idaho's fault rule, because how fault is shared directly changes what you can recover.

Idaho's Fault Rule: modified comparative negligence (50% bar)

Idaho Code § 6-801 (modified comparative negligence). Recovery is allowed only if the plaintiff's negligence/comparative responsibility "was not as great as" the defendant's; damages are diminished in proportion to the plaintiff's fault. Because being equally at fault (50/50) is "as great as" the defendant, a plaintiff who is 50% or more at fault is BARRED — this is a 50%-bar (modified-50) rule, not 51%.

Source: Idaho Code § 6-801 (comparative negligence); Idaho Code § 5-219(4) (2-yr PI statute of limitations); Idaho Code § 25-2810 (Dangerous and At-Risk Dogs Act — § 25-2810(11) strict civil liability for dog bites).

Damage Caps in Idaho

Idaho caps pain-and-suffering damages. Idaho caps non-economic (pain-and-suffering) damages under Idaho Code § 6-1603 — about $400,000 (a 2003 base of $250,000 indexed annually to average wages). It does not apply to reckless/willful or felonious conduct. (Approximate; confirm the current adjusted figure.) The estimator above already reflects this ceiling.

General personal-injury (compensatory) damages are NOT capped. However, Idaho Code § 6-1603 caps NONECONOMIC damages in any personal-injury/wrongful-death action at $250,000 (set 2003; indexed annually to the Idaho Industrial Commission average annual wage, so the current figure is materially higher); this cap does NOT apply to willful/reckless misconduct or to acts the trier of fact finds beyond a reasonable doubt to be a felony. PUNITIVE damages are capped under § 6-1604 at the greater of $250,000 or 3x compensatory damages. No cap on economic damages (medical bills, lost wages).

Dog-Bite Liability in Idaho

Idaho imposes STRICT civil liability on dog owners (and possessors/harborers/custodians) under Idaho Code § 25-2810(11), part of the 2016 "Idaho Dangerous and At-Risk Dogs Act" (added 2016 ch. 285; am. 2019 ch. 300). The statute provides that any dog that "physically attacks, wounds, bites or otherwise injures any person who is not trespassing," when the dog is not physically provoked or otherwise justified under § 25-2810(5) (or § 25-2808 for law-enforcement dogs), "subjects either its owner or any person who has accepted responsibility as the possessor, harborer, or custodian of the dog, or both, to civil liability for the injuries caused by the dog." It expressly adds that "[a] prior determination that a dog is dangerous or at risk... shall not be a prerequisite to civil liability." No proof of scienter (owner's knowledge of vicious propensities) is required, so this is strict liability, not the common-law one-bite rule. The Idaho Supreme Court (Boswell v. Steele, on review, 2021) recognized in a footnote that the 2016 statute supplanted prior common-law scienter theories for owners. Defenses are limited to trespass by the victim and the enumerated "justified provocation" categories in § 25-2810(5) (e.g., the dog defending a person, the victim committing a crime on the owner's property, the victim having tormented/abused the dog, the dog protecting offspring or working as a hunting/herding dog, service-animal tasks, or the victim intervening in an animal fight). NOTE: § 25-2805 is a separate "dogs running at large" infraction, NOT a vicious-dog or strict-liability provision.

Deadline to File a Claim in Idaho

Idaho generally requires a personal-injury lawsuit to be filed within 2 years of the injury (the statute of limitations). Personal-injury suits must be filed within 2 years of the injury (Idaho Code § 5-219(4)); a limited discovery rule applies and the period is tolled for minors until age 18. Miss it and your claim is usually barred no matter how strong it is, so do not wait to talk to an attorney.

• Statute of limitations to file a personal-injury suit is 2 years from the date of injury under Idaho Code § 5-219(4); a discovery rule applies in limited cases, and the period is tolled for minors until age 18.
• Negligence is modified comparative (§ 6-801): your recovery is reduced by your fault percentage and you are completely barred once your fault reaches 50% (equal to the defendant).
• Idaho imposes STRICT liability on dog owners for bites under Idaho Code § 25-2810(11): an owner/possessor/harborer is civilly liable for any unprovoked bite or injury to a non-trespassing person, with no need to prove the owner knew the dog was dangerous and no prior dangerous-dog determination required. Defenses are trespass and the "justified provocation" categories in § 25-2810(5). (This 2016 statute supplanted Idaho's former common-law one-bite/scienter rule.)
• Economic damages (medical costs, lost income) are uncapped, but noneconomic ('pain and suffering') damages are capped by § 6-1603 (~$250k base, wage-indexed), with exceptions for reckless/willful conduct or felonious acts.
• Punitive damages require clear-and-convincing proof of oppressive/fraudulent/malicious/outrageous conduct and must be added by post-pleading motion; they are capped at the greater of $250,000 or 3x compensatory damages (§ 6-1604).

Disclaimer

This estimator is for general informational purposes only and is not legal advice or a prediction of any outcome. RecordingLaw.com is not a law firm. The value of a personal-injury claim can only be assessed by a licensed attorney reviewing your specific facts.

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