Data Methodology
Where the numbers come from
If you're going to make decisions based on our data, you should know exactly how we collect it, verify it, and where it falls short. No black boxes.
Why methodology matters here
Most legal data sites tell you a number and expect you to trust it. We think that's backwards.
When someone is recovering from a car accident and trying to figure out what their case is worth, they deserve to know where those numbers came from. Are they from court records? Attorney self-reports? A mix? What gets left out?
Here's our full process. Judge for yourself.
Data sources
Where the data comes from
Four sources. Each one verified independently.
Court records
District courts, county courts, and appellate records across 22 states. Jury verdicts, bench trial decisions, and documented settlements. This is the backbone of everything we do.
Public filings and judgments
Final judgments, docket entries, and court filings give us the raw numbers. We verify every settlement amount against official documents before it enters the database.
Attorney disclosures
Participating attorneys voluntarily share anonymized case outcomes. This fills gaps that public records miss, especially for cases that settle before trial.
Verdict reporters
We cross-reference our findings with established legal verdict reporters. If our number doesn't match theirs, we dig deeper until we find the right one.
Verification pipeline
How we verify it
Data is only useful if it's accurate. Here's what every case goes through before it shows up on Verdictly.
Trace it to the source
Every case entry links back to its original source. Court record, attorney disclosure, or verdict reporter. No unattributed data points.
Normalize the data
Raw records get categorized by injury type, accident type, county, and outcome. A "cervical disc herniation" and a "herniated disc C5-C6" need to end up in the same bucket, or comparisons break down.
Flag the outliers
A $5 million settlement for a fender bender would skew averages for thousands of users. We manually review outliers and anomalies before they go live.
Keep updating
New cases are filed and resolved every day. We update continuously, and we revisit older entries when better information surfaces.
What we cover right now
Data depth varies by state. Texas has our deepest coverage. We add new states only when we can do them well.
Honest limitations
What we get wrong (and what we can't capture)
Most settlements are confidential. Our data skews toward cases that went to trial or had public outcomes. Confidential settlements, which make up the majority, aren't included. This means our averages may be higher than the true market average.
Past results don't predict yours. Every case is different. The facts, the evidence, the insurance coverage, the attorney, the judge. Our data shows what has happened. Not what will happen in your case.
This isn't legal advice. Verdictly is a research tool. Use it to walk into your first consultation with context, not to replace the consultation itself.
We make mistakes. Despite our verification process, errors happen. If you spot one, tell us and we'll fix it.
See the data for yourself
Browse real settlement outcomes by injury type, county, and state. The numbers are there. Draw your own conclusions.