How Are Pain and Suffering Damages Calculated?

If you have been injured due to someone else’s negligence, whether it be in a car accident, slip-and-fall, or any other personal injury case, you can pursue compensation from the at-fault party for damages – including pain and suffering. After establishing the liable party, you will then need to prove your financial losses so you can rightfully claim the money you need to rebuild your life. This money is known as damages.

Damages include calculable items like medical bills and non-economic claims like pain and suffering. A personal injury lawyer can help you understand how this works.

What Are Pain and Suffering Damages?

Pain and suffering is considered non-economic damage that encompasses both the physical and emotional suffering of an accident victim. It is the accumulation of all the pain, anguish, and trauma you suffered.

The term “damages” refers to the amount of money you may be awarded in a lawsuit. Generally, damages are paid by the person who caused the injury due to their negligence or intentional harm.

Physical Pain and Suffering

Physical injuries that occur in an accident that is due to the negligence of someone else can be extremely painful, lasting for days, weeks, months, or years.  It can even be permanent, leaving the victim with constant physical pain. Physical injuries that may qualify for pain and suffering compensation include:

• Back pain
• Headaches
• Neck pain
• Traumatic brain injury
• Nerve damage
• Broken or fractured bones
• Dislocated joints
• Organ damage
• Paralysis

Emotional Pain and Suffering

Emotional distress (also known as mental anguish under Florida law) is when the allegedly negligent actions of another result in an injury victim sustaining mental harm. This emotional pain can be severe and can cause lifetime permanent damage to the victim.  Emotional pain and suffering can also result in psychological and mental distress.

Emotional pain and suffering can include:

• Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
• Anger
• Fear
• Insomnia
• Grief
• Cognitive changes
• Loss or diminishment of quality of life

Most people are uncomfortable talking about their injuries. No one wants to be thought of as a whiner or complainer. Even my most severely injured clients are wary to openly discuss the full weight and burden that their injuries take on them. Even so, vignettes or stories that illustrate what someone’s life was like before and after the accident are crucial in demonstrating to the jury the magnitude of your loss.

What Types of Damages Can You Add to Your Claim?

Damages can include easily calculable items known as economic, or “special,” damages, such as medical bills, and non-economic damages, like pain and suffering. When it comes to non-economic damages, the amount of money one can claim is more difficult since there are no receipts or bills. In most states, when an individual is injured as a result of the negligence exhibited by an individual or corporation, the law provides that the injured party can ask a jury to compensate them for both economic and non-economic damages.

Economic Damages

Economic damages are readily calculable—medical bills, lost wages, or anything with a set dollar amount. Economic damages are typically easily presentable to a jury. Jurors understand hard and fast numbers, like medical bills and lost wages, and are oftentimes readily willing to compensate an injury victim for these types of losses.

What becomes more difficult to prove and be compensated for are so-called “non-economic” damages, or what is commonly referred to as “pain and suffering” damages. These are also known as general damages.

General Damages

General damages for pain and suffering refer to damages that are not monetary in nature. For example, damages for pain and suffering, loss of consortium, and emotional trauma are all examples of general damages. There are no tangible bills or receipts that state a specific dollar amount for pain and suffering or emotional damage, but nonetheless, they are still losses for which an injured person deserves compensation.

Damages in a Claim vs. at Trial

If a personal injury claim was always as simple as only having special damages, things would be clearer cut. However, an injured person almost always also suffers non-monetary damages that one cannot easily place a price on. This is why there needs to be a way to calculate pain and suffering damages that is fair for both the insurance company and the injured victim and their family.

In a personal injury trial, you can ask the jury to compensate you for non-economic damages, which include:

• Damages as the result of any bodily injury
• Any resulting pain and suffering disability or physical impairment
• Disfigurement
• Mental anguish
• Inconvenience
• Loss of the capacity for the enjoyment of life either in the past or to be experienced in the future

These things are the different “elements” of pain and suffering damages and is essentially financial compensation for having to “go through”  things you otherwise would not have had to if it wasn’t for the accident/injury. In minor incidents, this is compensation for an inconvenience, but in cases involving major incidents, it is compensation for your agony and suffering. For example, your medical bills may be covered, but that doesn’t compensate you for the pain of never being able to pick up your grandchild again.

For a free legal consultation, call 833-552-7274

How Much Can I Get for Pain and Suffering?

If the case does not go to trial, then your damages – whether economic or non-economic – are generally limited to the coverage limits of the insurance policy. The two most common types of auto insurance coverage are bodily injury (BI) and uninsured/underinsured (UM) motorist coverage. Both BI and UM can be used to cover pain and suffering, but only up to the amount of the policy limits.

How Split Limits Work

Bodily injury coverage most commonly has two policy limits, or split limits. One number represents the most the insurer will pay for one claimant, and the other represents the maximum the insurer will pay in total, regardless of the number of claimants involved. This second number would come into play if there were injured passengers involved.

You probably have seen split limits before; they most often look like 50/100 or $50,000/$100,000. There are exceptions to this rule, however. For example, there may be other insurance policies involved if the injury was caused by a major corporation or some other large entity besides a private citizen.

Often, this means that a person cannot sue an insurance company for a million dollars if the insurance coverage the defendant held only had a limit of $50,000. However, if there are multiple liable parties or if the defendant is a corporation, then you may be able to collect significantly more compensation for your pain and suffering. If the case were to proceed to trial, it depends on the state whether or not there is a limit.

If you were in an accident in a state where you are not a resident, you would need to research how that state values pain and suffering. In many states, there is no limit to the amount that someone receives for pain and suffering.

How Can I Prove Pain and Suffering?

To establish physical or emotional pain and suffering, it is important to document evidence for both your pain and your suffering. This evidence may include:

• The documented or written opinion of an expert in a field related to personal injury that can testify to intricacies of pain and suffering in general
• Medical evidence
• Photographs
• Doctor, therapist, or mental health professional’s notes
• Personal documentation (diaries/journals) of pain

The more evidence you can provide when suing for pain and suffering, the more the insurance company, judge, or even the jury will be able to see the negative impacts of pain and suffering on the victim’s life in ways that can’t be seen through medical bills. This part is harder to prove and is what requires the testimony of yourself as well as family and/or friends.

Should your case go to trial it’s important to remember that even things such as the doctor asking you to rate your pain on a scale from one to ten are permanently documented and can be used. This means you need to be honest – do not tell the insurance company you are in immense pain when you’ve been telling the doctor the opposite.

Preparing for a Deposition

If your case is in litigation you will most likely sit for a deposition. At a deposition, your testimony is given under oath before a court reporter who is taking down questions directed to you by the defense attorney, along with your responses.

In preparing for your deposition, your attorney may ask you to explain how this accident has affected your life. Be ready to give real-life examples so that your attorney can best advocate on your behalf.

How Juries Decide Pain and Suffering Damages

Properly illustrating your pain and suffering damages at trial for the jury to understand is essential in order to be adequately compensated for your injuries. While juries may have a relatively easy time determining the amount of compensation for economic damages – because those are numbers they can see reflected in documented medical bills and lost wages – they often struggle with placing a monetary value on someone’s pain and suffering.

Even the standard jury instruction does not provide the jurors with guidance in determining a figure. Abstract concepts, ambiguity, and confusion are all defense tactics utilized by defense attorneys to dismantle your viable personal injury claim. This is why it is critical to be honest about the extent of your injuries and the complete impact those injuries have had on your life.

Providing a range dollar figure can also be beneficial in allowing the jury to make the determination as to what the final number will be. Presenting multiple stories from different witnesses demonstrating the extent of your pain and suffering damages, and including a monetary range for each, will allow the jury a viable opportunity to compensate you for that loss. Your attorney can only use these examples of loss to illustrate your injuries if you provide them to him or her.

Having Witness Statements Is Extremely Beneficial to Your Case

Proving damages for pain and suffering is one of the more important ways to ensure you receive a fair amount. The more evidence you have, the better. It is also one of the most complex issues that arise in a personal injury case.

Ensuring that you have the necessary documentary evidence—medical records, witness statements that establish the full scope of your pain and suffering, and expert testimony to verify your injuries and the pain they cause—are all things we have years of experience handling. Before-and-after witnesses are individuals who knew you both before and after the incident, giving rise to your injuries and equipping them to testify as to how the accident has impacted you from their perspective. A spouse or significant other is typically an obvious before-and-after witness because they live with you day in and out, taking notice of your physical condition.

These types of witnesses are inherently biased in that they clearly care about you and would presumably never testify in a manner that would undermine your claim. The defense will therefore often attack witnesses that are related to you either by blood or marriage by suggesting to the jury just that—that the witnesses are inherently biased. Oftentimes the best before-and-after witnesses are people who do not have any personal stake in the litigation, such as employers or co-workers—individuals who are not a friend or relative who may be biased but rather people who see the victim on a nearly everyday basis and can provide first-hand knowledge regarding the effects the injuries have had on that person.

Should I Try to Handle My Pain and Suffering Claim without an Injury Attorney?

It is always highly recommended that you hire an experienced attorney before trying to file a personal injury claim. Insurance companies may try to tell you that this is an unnecessary measure, and the prospect of paying for an attorney while coping with damages after a personal injury can be daunting. Attempting to handle a personal injury claim on your own almost always ends with a claimant making a mistake that significantly reduces the value of their case and any settlement they potentially could have gotten.

Without education and experience handling personal injury claims, it is very easy to make mistakes like:

• Accidentally admitting fault
• Giving recorded statements
• Handing over medical records when you don’t have to
• Failing to file the proper documentation in time

When someone tries to obtain a settlement without an attorney, the insurance adjuster can usually tell that they aren’t able to negotiate as well. They will then agree to settle for an amount that is far less than what that could have gotten with an attorney – potentially hundreds of thousands less. Insurance adjusters are known to lowball people dealing with severe financial pressure and take advantage of their situation. 

Clients often value their case at a much lower amount than what is actually achievable with a qualified personal injury attorney. This is often because they do not have familiarity with the value of damages they can claim or even that they can seek compensation for certain damages. This is why it is important to have an attorney that can help guide you through the personal injury claim process. 

Injuries for Which You Can Claim Pain and Suffering

There are many injuries where accident victims could receive money for pain and suffering, including:

• Scarring
• Whiplash
• Traumatic brain injuries
• Spinal cord injuries
• Back injuries
• Broken bones

Insurance companies will usually pay more to those with broken bones or those that have needed surgery over those with soft tissue injuries. The longer you have been treated by a doctor, the more likely it is your settlement will be higher. Your chance of getting more money for pain and suffering is also higher if you were transported to the hospital in an ambulance, which is why it is usually one of the first questions asked by insurance companies when you file a claim.

The 9-1-1 call can also be of use to get a higher amount if the case were to go to trial. Jurors would be able to actually listen to the call and let it inform their ultimate decision.

Methods for Calculating Pain and Suffering

Negotiating a settlement for a personal injury claim requires that you calculate a reasonable amount of money that you would accept to resolve your claim. Most insurance companies and injury attorneys rely on some type of formula to give them an idea of what a case is worth.  Since every personal injury case is unique, pain and suffering calculations are dependent upon the facts and circumstances of each case.

In a personal injury case, there are two ways to calculate pain and suffering.

The Multiplier Method

The multiplier method is when the actual damages are multiplied by a number between 1 and 5, depending upon the severity of your injury. In order to decide what the multiplier is, the insurance company and your attorney will assess the above factors to determine how serious your injuries are.  The more severe, the more your number is multiplied by.

(Medical bills, both past, and future) x (multiplier) + (Total of Economic Damages, like medical bills, property damage, lost wages, etc.) = Reasonable Value of Case

The Per Diem Method

“Per diem” is Latin for “by the day.” As the name implies, this method uses a daily pain and suffering calculator for these kinds of damages.

Using this method, a specific dollar amount is paid for each day from the time of the accident until the patient reaches maximum medical improvement.  This is when a medical professional does not expect the victim’s condition to further improve.

It’s not easy to come up with a clear number that accurately accommodates pain and suffering. How inconvenient or awful one person may consider a life-long back injury is not the same as another person’s interpretation. Likewise, how you determine a dollar amount is even trickier since both pain and how it affects someone is extremely subjective.

Seek an Experienced Personal Injury Attorney Today

Hiring a personal injury attorney will greatly increase your ability to viably make a claim for pain and suffering damages. An experienced personal injury attorney will help you to construct an objective testimony of what you can no longer do compared to what you could do before the accident. At Dolman Law Group Accident Injury Lawyers, PA, we fully review every detail of your case in order to provide you with the best possible counseling and exceptional representation.

We have handled thousands of pain and suffering claims, and we can tell you that it is really just a matter of thoroughly documenting all of the above and understanding the ways in which insurance companies think. Unlike other Florida law firms that handle similar personal injury cases, we focus on the quality of representation, rather than the number of clients we have. We take pride in the number of injured victims with whom we have had the privilege of representing, but we take more pride in their level of satisfaction.

Let us help you maximize the pain and suffering amount of your claim. Call us today for a free consultation with one of our experienced attorneys. We look forward to hearing from you.

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