Delaware is not a no-fault state, but it requires every policy to carry at least $15,000 per person in personal injury protection that pays medical bills and lost wages regardless of fault — and you can still sue for pain and suffering without clearing any threshold.
Filing deadline
2 years
From the date of the accident, for injury lawsuits.
Fault rule
Modified comparative (51% bar)
Delaware bars recovery once your fault exceeds 50%; at 50% or less your damages are reduced proportionally.
Required coverage
$25K / $50K
Bodily-injury liability, per person / per accident.
Delaware uses modified comparative negligence with a 51% bar, and pairs it with mandatory personal injury protection — every policy must carry at least $15,000 in PIP that pays medical bills and lost wages regardless of fault.
Unlike true no-fault states, Delaware does not require you to clear an injury threshold before suing for pain and suffering — PIP simply pays first, and a liability claim against the at-fault driver still proceeds in parallel.
Minimum liability coverage is $25,000 per person and $50,000 per accident, and Delaware's small size means most claims move through a compact set of courts and adjusters familiar with the state's specific practices.
The 2-year statute of limitations gets the headlines, but it is almost never the deadline people actually miss.
| Deadline | Window | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Personal injury lawsuit | 2 years from the crash | 10 Del. Code § 8119. |
| Claim against a government entity | Notice required well inside the general deadline | The Delaware Tort Claims Act imposes its own faster notice requirements — treat any government-vehicle crash as time-sensitive. |
Provisions that are specific to Delaware and routinely surprise claimants who assumed the national norm applied.
Delaware's mandatory $15,000 PIP pays medical bills and wage loss regardless of fault, but — unlike Michigan or New York — it does not require you to clear an injury threshold before also pursuing the at-fault driver for pain and suffering.
Crossing the 50% fault line eliminates the claim entirely, so early evidence — the police report, dashcam footage, witness statements — carries outsized weight in Delaware negotiations.
Delaware's compact court system and small pool of adjusters means claim handling and settlement patterns are more consistent statewide than in larger, venue-diverse states.
Delaware requires at least $25K / $50K in bodily injury liability coverage, uninsured motorist coverage is optional, and fault is decided under modified comparative (51% bar).
Bodily injury per person / per accident. This is the ceiling on the at-fault driver's policy, not a valuation of your injury.
Delaware does not require it, which is exactly why so many claims stall at the at-fault driver's minimum limits. Check your own declarations page anyway; most people carry it without knowing.
The at-fault party's insurer pays, and there is no threshold to clear before claiming pain and suffering.
Delaware bars recovery once your fault exceeds 50%; at 50% or less your damages are reduced proportionally.
Coverage minimums and helmet requirements are set by statute and change. Verified August 2026 against the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety helmet law table and state insurance department filings; confirm the current rule before relying on it.
National ranges adjusted for Delaware's legal climate. Click an injury for the full Delaware breakdown.
| Injury | Typical range | Severe cases |
|---|---|---|
| Whiplash | $3K – $28K | up to $100K |
| Back Injury | $10K – $100K | up to $525K |
| Herniated Disc | $43K – $150K | up to $725K |
| Broken Bones | $15K – $100K | up to $375K |
| Concussion / Mild TBI | $20K – $125K | up to $1.1M |
| Shoulder Injury | $15K – $100K | up to $325K |
| Knee Injury | $15K – $100K | up to $425K |
| Neck Injury | $15K – $125K | up to $625K |
| Spinal Cord Injury | $275K – $1.6M | up to $10.5M |
| Traumatic Brain Injury | $100K – $1.1M | up to $10.5M |
| Internal Injuries | $53K – $275K | up to $1.1M |
| Burn Injuries | $28K – $200K | up to $5.3M |
| PTSD / Emotional Distress | $10K – $80K | up to $275K |
| Wrongful Death | $525K – $2.1M | up to $10.5M |
| Soft Tissue Injuries | $3K – $20K | up to $80K |
| Amputation & Limb Loss | $275K – $2.1M | up to $10.5M |
| Electrocution & Electrical Injury | $53K – $525K | up to $10.5M |
| Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS) | $28K – $525K | up to $5.3M |
How the claim is built changes with how you were hurt. Each guide applies DE law to that specific kind of accident.
Car Accident
$3K – $58K
Truck Accident
$28K – $375K
Motorcycle Accident
$20K – $200K
Pedestrian Accident
$28K – $275K
Bicycle Accident
$15K – $150K
Rideshare Accident
$10K – $125K
Slip and Fall
$6K – $63K
Workplace Injury
$6K – $80K
Dog Bite
$15K – $63K
Medical Malpractice
$53K – $525K
Product Liability
$28K – $275K
Nursing Home Abuse
$33K – $325K
Electric Scooter Accident
$10K – $80K
Falling Object Injury
$15K – $150K
These apply to every claim, and each one is a mistake insurers count on.
Get treated within 72 hours, and do not skip visits
Treatment delay and gaps in care are the two most common reasons claims get discounted. If you have to pause treatment for money, work, or childcare, tell the provider so the reason appears in the chart rather than reading as recovery.
Photograph everything while it is fresh
Both vehicles from multiple angles, the scene, road conditions, skid marks, traffic controls, and your visible injuries as they develop. Bruising often looks worse on day three than on day one — photograph it again.
Keep a dated symptom journal
Pain scores, sleep disruption, and specific activities you could not do. Contemporaneous notes carry weight that a recollection twelve months later does not, and they are what make non-economic damages concrete.
Document work impact through your employer
A letter confirming missed shifts, modified duty, or lost overtime turns lost income from an assertion into a provable number.
Decline the early recorded statement
You are not obligated to give a recorded statement to the other driver's insurer. Early statements are taken before symptoms peak and are quoted back for the life of the claim.
Report every symptomatic area at the first visit
Injuries that hurt less at first get mentioned later, and the delay becomes the insurer's causation argument. List everything that hurts, even mildly.
Six phases, and the first is the longest — nothing can be valued until treatment ends or plateaus.
Nothing can be valued until your doctor says you have stopped improving — maximum medical improvement. Settling before that point means paying for your own future care.
Records, bills, wage documentation, and a written demand go to the adjuster. Assembling complete records from every provider is usually what takes the time.
The adjuster reviews the file, often runs it through claims-evaluation software, and sets an authority range. Complex or disputed claims go to a supervisor or a committee.
Offers and counters. Straightforward claims resolve in a handful of exchanges; disputed liability or serious injury can take many rounds, and sometimes a lawsuit filing to move.
You sign a release ending the claim permanently. Read it — a broad release can extinguish claims against parties you did not intend to release.
The check goes to your attorney's trust account. Liens and medical providers are paid first, then fees and case costs, then the balance reaches you. Many states require the insurer to pay within roughly 30 days of the signed release.
The questions people actually search for on this topic, answered in full.
Two years from the date of the crash. Claims against a government entity require faster, separate notice under the state's tort claims act.
You recover nothing once your fault exceeds 50%. At 50% or less, your damages are reduced by your fault percentage.
Not exactly. Delaware requires PIP coverage that pays medical bills and lost wages regardless of fault, but you can still sue the at-fault driver for pain and suffering without clearing an injury threshold.
$25,000 per person and $50,000 per accident for bodily injury, plus $15,000 in PIP that pays regardless of fault.
Values run close to the national average; the mandatory PIP layer means smaller claims are often resolved through PIP alone, while larger injuries proceed to a liability claim against the at-fault driver.
The questions people actually search for on this topic, answered in full.
Contingency fees typically run 33% to 40%. The common structure is one third if the case settles before a lawsuit is filed, rising to 40% once litigation begins or the case approaches trial. Case expenses — filing fees, records, expert reports — are usually deducted on top of the fee rather than out of it, so ask specifically which structure the agreement uses.
Compensation for physical injury or physical sickness is generally not taxable federally. Portions allocated to lost wages, punitive damages, and interest generally are, and previously deducted medical expenses can be taxable when reimbursed. How the settlement is allocated among those categories has real consequences, so it is worth addressing before the documents are signed rather than at tax time.
The order of payment is liens and medical providers first, then attorney fees and case expenses, then you. On a $100,000 settlement with a one-third fee, $4,000 in costs, and $15,000 in medical liens, the net is roughly $48,000 — and lien negotiation is frequently where the largest gains are available, because providers often accept substantial reductions.
The insurer typically issues the check within two to four weeks of receiving the signed release, and most states require payment within a reasonable period commonly understood as 30 to 45 days. Disbursement to you then depends on how quickly liens are resolved, which can add several weeks.
Usually not. Industry analysis consistently places first offers at roughly half of a claim's fair value, and adjusters are evaluated in part on savings against reserves. Cases involving a genuine lowball frequently resolve for several times the opening number once the file is properly documented — but the first offer is also final if you accept it, because the release closes the claim permanently.
In most cases yes. Health insurers, Medicare, Medicaid, and hospitals hold subrogation or lien rights against injury recoveries. Those liens are frequently negotiable — sometimes substantially — and reducing them raises your net recovery dollar for dollar without any further negotiation with the insurer.
Answer six questions and your range appears right here — free, no sign-up, no email wall. It is already set to Delaware, so the modified comparative (51% bar) rule and this state’s settlement climate are built into the number.
Estimated range
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Laws summarized for general education and may change; verify current deadlines and rules with a licensed Delaware attorney before acting. Not legal advice. InjurySage is not a law firm. Page updated August 2026.