If you are confident in your negotiating skills, have good communication skills, are patient and organized you will probably handle this part of the process very well. Your goal is not to get the same as an attorney would get, but to get the same “net” amount in your pocket when the case is settled. The standard attorney fee for a car accident case is 33 1/3%, so you only need to settle your case for 2/3 of what the lawyer would have gotten to do just as well on your own. So if a lawyer could settle your case for $12,000, you only need to get $8,000 to do just as well financially.