Blog · Personal Injury Law
The Hidden Cost of Missed Calls in Personal Injury Law:
How AI Recovers $10k+ Monthly
February 8, 2026 · 6 min read
A single personal injury case is worth $5,000–$50,000 in fees. The average firm misses 32% of inbound calls during business hours. After hours? That number jumps to 100%. Here's exactly how much that costs and what firms are doing about it.
The Math Behind Missed Calls
Let's run conservative numbers for a mid-size PI firm spending $8,000/month on Google Ads:
- 150 calls/month from paid ads and organic search
- 32% missed = 48 calls going to voicemail
- 78% of legal consumers hire the first firm that responds (Clio 2024 Legal Trends Report)
- Average case value: $8,500 in fees
- Even if only 5% of missed calls would have signed = 2.4 cases/month lost
- Lost revenue: $20,400/month
That's $244,800 per year walking out the door because nobody picked up the phone. And this estimate is conservative—it doesn't account for evenings, weekends, or holidays when call volume spikes from accident scenes.
Why Voicemail Doesn't Work for PI
Accident victims are in distress. They're calling from emergency rooms, tow yards, and roadsides. They're not leaving thoughtful voicemails—they're calling the next number on Google. The data confirms this: 80% of callers who reach voicemail hang up without leaving a message (Forbes Advisor, 2025).
Traditional answering services charge $1.50–$3.00 per minute and often lack legal intake training. A 4-minute call costs $6–$12, and the "receptionist" usually takes a name and number without qualifying the lead. That's not intake—it's an expensive Post-It note.
How AI Changes the Equation
AI phone agents like Vox for Personal Injury Lawyers answer every call in under 1 second, 24/7. But answering is table stakes. Here's what moves the needle:
Qualified Intake, Not Just Message-Taking
Vox asks your custom intake questions: accident type, date of injury, insurance status, medical treatment. You get a qualified lead report, not a callback slip.
Instant CRM Sync
Lead data flows directly into Clio, MyCase, or your CRM via Zapier/webhooks. Your team can follow up in minutes, not hours.
After-Hours Coverage at Scale
Predictable pricing with included minutes. Vox handles 10 simultaneous calls as easily as 1. Friday night car accident? Three calls at once? Handled.
The ROI Case
Without Vox
48 missed calls/month
~2.4 lost cases/month
-$20,400/month in lost fees
With Vox ($250–$500/month)
0 missed calls
Even 1 extra signed case/month
+$8,500/month in recovered fees
That's a 17x–34x return on your Vox subscription. Most firms recover the annual cost within the first week.
What to Do Next
If your firm is spending money on advertising but sending after-hours calls to voicemail, you're paying to generate leads and then throwing them away. See how Vox works for personal injury firms →
Stop Losing Cases to Voicemail
Set up in 15 minutes. No contracts. Every call answered 24/7.