Most online tools ask for broad inputs—age, income, and a few damage categories. In real disputes, insurers and defense attorneys focus on different questions first:
- What the evidence shows right now (dashcam availability, witness identities, photographs, maintenance records)
- Whether fault is clear or contested (especially when there are multiple contributing factors)
- Whether the death was caused by the incident, not an existing condition or later complication
- Policy limits and coverage tied to the specific defendant
That means two families can enter the process with similar losses and still see very different settlement outcomes depending on evidence quality and liability risk.


