False Arrest Damages Calculator

Key concepts: false arrest, unlawful detention, and related claims

False arrest (sometimes called false imprisonment or unlawful detention) generally refers to being restrained, arrested, or held without proper legal authority. In the United States, these situations may lead to:

• Federal civil rights claims under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 when government officials violate constitutional rights (for example, a Fourth Amendment violation for unreasonable seizure).
• State law claims such as false imprisonment, assault and battery, or negligence against officers, private security, or businesses.

This page is written primarily with U.S. law in mind. Laws, procedures, and available damages vary by country and by state. If your situation happened outside the United States, or in a specific U.S. state, you should speak with a local attorney for jurisdiction-specific advice.

How the calculator estimates damages

The calculator combines three main pieces of information you enter:

1. Hours detained – how long you were held or in custody.
2. Hourly wage – used to estimate lost wages during detention.
3. Other economic losses – additional out-of-pocket costs (medical care, therapy, missed job opportunities, property damage, etc.).
4. Emotional distress multiplier – a factor that approximates non-economic damages for emotional harm, humiliation, and loss of liberty.

In simplified form, the calculator follows this structure:

Where:

• = total estimated damages
• = other economic losses you enter (medical bills, therapy, etc.)
• = lost income during detention
• = estimated non-economic damages (emotional distress, humiliation, loss of liberty)

Lost income is estimated as:

Where is hours detained and is your hourly wage.

Non-economic damages are estimated by applying a rough multiplier to your economic losses. Higher multipliers reflect more serious emotional harm, longer detention, or more humiliating circumstances. The scale is typically interpreted as:

• 1 – 3: minor emotional impact, brief detention, minimal public exposure.
• 3 – 6: moderate impact, e.g., overnight jail, visible arrest, ongoing anxiety.
• 6 – 10: severe impact, such as multi-day detention, significant trauma, serious reputational harm, or lasting psychological effects.

The calculator then adds these components together to produce a single rough estimate.

Typical false arrest damages by detention scenario

Reported verdicts and settlements vary widely, but the ranges below are often cited as broad, non-binding reference points for U.S. cases. They are not guarantees and do not replace professional legal analysis.

Your situation may fall outside these ranges depending on the facts, local law, available evidence, and any caps on damages.

Factors courts often consider

When judges or juries decide damages in false arrest and unlawful detention cases, they usually consider a combination of factors, including:

• Length of detention: more hours or days in custody generally increase damages for loss of liberty and lost income.
• Circumstances of the arrest: public handcuffing, use of force, strip searches, or detention in harsh conditions can increase non-economic damages.
• Age, health, and vulnerability of the person detained: children, elderly people, or people with disabilities may experience more severe harm.
• Publicity and humiliation: arrests at work, in front of family, or with media coverage may support higher emotional distress awards.
• Outcome of criminal charges: dropped charges, non-prosecution, or acquittal can strengthen certain claims; a valid conviction may limit or bar recovery even if the experience felt unfair.
• Criminal history: prior arrests or convictions can sometimes reduce how much a court believes the incident harmed reputation or emotional well-being.
• Malice or misconduct: racial profiling, fabrication of evidence, or excessive force may support punitive damages in some jurisdictions.

Worked example

Imagine the following scenario, using the default values in the calculator:

• Hours detained: 10
• Hourly wage: $25
• Other economic losses: $1,000 (therapy and medical visits)
• Emotional distress multiplier: 3 (moderate impact)

First, estimate lost income:

10 hours × $25/hour = $250 in lost wages.

Economic losses are then:

$250 (lost wages) + $1,000 (other economic losses) = $1,250.

Using a multiplier of 3, non-economic damages are roughly estimated as 3 × $1,250 = $3,750.

The total estimated damages would be:

$1,250 (economic) + $3,750 (non-economic) = $5,000.

This figure is a rough educational estimate. An attorney might adjust it up or down based on the specific facts, evidence, applicable law, and any statutory caps.

Interpreting your results

When you run the calculator, you will typically see:

• Total estimated damages – a single dollar figure combining economic and non-economic components.
• Breakdown of economic losses – lost wages during detention plus other economic losses you entered.
• Approximate emotional distress amount – based on the multiplier you selected.

Use this output to:

• Understand how changes in detention length, income, or documented expenses may affect a rough damages range.
• Prepare for an initial consultation with a civil rights or personal injury attorney.
• Compare different hypothetical scenarios (for example, different multipliers for emotional distress).

Do not use the result to decide whether to file a claim, settle, or reject a settlement offer without professional advice. Real-world outcomes can be higher or lower than this estimate.

Comparison: calculator output vs. real-world damages

Assumptions and limitations

This calculator is intentionally simplified. It relies on several important assumptions:

• User-entered economic losses: The tool assumes you correctly enter lost income and other economic losses based on your own records.
• Multiplier as a rough proxy: The emotional distress multiplier is only an educational proxy. Courts do not apply a standard multiplier formula for false arrest cases.
• No legal defenses modeled: The calculator does not consider probable cause, qualified immunity, statute of limitations, governmental immunities, or other defenses that may completely bar or reduce recovery.
• No jurisdiction-specific rules: It does not account for state law caps on damages, special notice requirements for suing government entities, or unique local rules.
• U.S.-centric context: It reflects common themes in U.S. civil rights and tort law and may not apply in other countries.

Important legal disclaimer

This tool is for general informational and educational purposes only and is not legal advice.

• Using this calculator does not create an attorney–client relationship.
• The estimates are rough and may be much higher or lower than any actual settlement or verdict.
• False arrest and civil rights cases involve complex constitutional and state law issues.
• Even if charges are dropped, an arrest may still be lawful if officers had probable cause at the time.
• Police officers and agencies may be protected by qualified immunity or governmental immunity in many situations.

If you believe you were falsely arrested or unlawfully detained, you should consult a qualified attorney in your jurisdiction as soon as possible to evaluate your potential claims and any filing deadlines.