When you suffer harm at the hands of another, you may suffer many losses and incur extensive expenses. Therefore, you may have the right to file a personal injury claim to recover financially for your tangible and intangible damages.
In personal injury lawyer cases, calculating pain and suffering is one of the most intricate and subjective aspects of determining damages. Unlike economic damages, such as medical expenses or lost income, which can be more precisely calculated, pain and suffering damages involve more nuanced considerations.
Understanding Pain and Suffering Damages
Pain and suffering refers to the physical and emotional distress experienced by a plaintiff due to an injury caused by the defendant’s actions or negligence. It encompasses a wide range of effects, including:
- Physical pain: The actual physical discomfort caused by injuries, such as chronic pain, discomfort from treatments, or limitations in mobility.
- Mental anguish: Emotional distress, anxiety, depression, and loss of enjoyment of life due to the injury.
Pain and suffering damages can result from several different types of cases, including, but not limited to:
- Motor vehicle collisions, including car and truck accidents
- Medical malpractice
- Premises liability incidents, like slip and falls
- Construction accidents
- Nursing home neglect
- Wrongful death
These damages aim to compensate plaintiffs for the non-economic impacts that cannot be easily quantified in financial terms.
Calculating Pain and Suffering Damages in a Personal Injury Case
It’s common to wonder how lawyers calculate pain and suffering damages. Because these damages are non-economic, they represent intangible losses, which are much more difficult to calculate. Unlike economic damages, which are usually more easily proven through available evidence, non-economic damages are subjective. Therefore, it takes more effort to exhibit these losses.
Generally, lawyers use one of two calculation methods for pain and suffering damages: the “multiplier” method or the “per diem” method.
The multiplier method involves multiplying the plaintiff’s economic damages (such as medical expenses and lost income) by a factor typically ranging from 1.5 to 5, depending on the severity of the pain and suffering. For example, if economic damages amount to $50,000 and the multiplier is 3, pain and suffering damages can be calculated as $150,000.
Lawyers may use the per diem (per day) method to quantify pain and suffering, based on the duration of recovery or anticipated suffering. A daily rate is established and multiplied by the number of days deemed reasonable for recovery or suffering. The daily rate is often derived from the plaintiff’s daily income or other relevant factors.
Along with these two common methods, courts often rely on the subjective assessment of jurors or judges to determine the extent of pain and suffering. Testimony from medical experts, psychologists, or the plaintiff’s own accounts may be presented to help quantify the impact of the injury.
Discuss your pain and suffering damages with your lawyer for more clarity. They can discuss the type of calculation they use and give you a better idea of what you can expect.
Is there an Average Payout for Pain and Suffering?
Injured victims commonly wonder if there is an “average” payout they can expect to receive based on their type of case and circumstances. However, when it comes to pain and suffering damages, there is no average you can expect to receive.
Every case and plaintiff is unique. Therefore, it’s difficult to determine an average for non-economic damages like pain and suffering. Your lawyer can provide personalized guidance concerning your pain and suffering damages based on the specifics of your case.
Factors Considered in Determining Pain and Suffering Damages
Determining your pain and suffering damages requires assessing several critical factors. Some of the most important details that heavily influence the value of pain and suffering include:
- The severity of the injury: The nature and extent of the injury significantly influence the amount awarded. Severe injuries resulting in long-term disabilities generally attract higher damages.
- Duration of recovery: The length of time needed for recovery, including rehabilitation and ongoing treatment, plays a crucial role in assessing pain and suffering.
- Mental and emotional effects: Emotional distress and mental anguish caused by the injuries and resulting losses, including the development of anxiety, depression, or PTSD.
- Impact on daily life: How the injury affects the plaintiff’s ability to work, engage in hobbies, or maintain relationships is carefully evaluated.
- Strength of available evidence: The credibility and persuasiveness of evidence presented by both parties, including expert testimonies and medical records, influence the final decision.
When evaluating how much your damages are worth, your personal injury lawyer will review these and other pertinent details. Based on the specifics of your case, your attorney can determine the extent of your pain and suffering damages and aggressively pursue the compensation you deserve.
Proving Pain and Suffering
Proving your pain and suffering damages can be particularly challenging but not impossible. Your personal injury lawyer can gather strong evidence to substantiate your losses, such as:
- Medical records: Your injuries can seriously impact your life as a whole. Your medical records can exhibit the severity of your injuries and help to show how your life will be affected in the future.
- Expert witness testimony: Testimony from experts, like medical professionals, can further boost your claim and show how your injuries have affected and will continue to impact your physical, mental, and emotional health.
- Photos: Sometimes, it’s not enough to read about your injuries. Photos of your injuries can help show the seriousness of your harm, especially if your injuries result in permanent scars or physical changes.
Additionally, you may consider other pieces of evidence, like keeping a journal to record all of your thoughts and emotions following your accident. Nobody knows how you feel better than you, and keeping a detailed account can help paint a better picture when pursuing pain and suffering damages.
Limits on Non-Economic Damages
If you’re pursuing pain and suffering damages, it’s important to note that some jurisdictions have a limit on certain types of damages, including non-economic damages, called damage caps.
For example, in some states, like Tennessee, there is a damage cap on non-economic damages. Compensation for non-economic damages suffered by injured plaintiffs cannot exceed $750,000. Meaning, this figure is the absolute most you can receive for non-economic damages, regardless of the circumstances.
In other states, like Virginia, there are generally no caps on economic or non-economic damages. The only damages capped by law are punitive damages, which differ from compensatory non-economic damages.
When pursuing damages in a personal injury case, it’s essential to determine whether your state has any damage caps. Becoming familiar with your state’s laws concerning limits on damages can help you understand what to expect.
Challenges in Obtaining Pain and Suffering Damages
As mentioned, it can be difficult to obtain the pain and suffering damages you’re entitled to. Some of the most notable challenges in pursuing these damages include:
- Subjectivity: Unlike economic damages, pain and suffering are subjective and open to interpretation, leading to varying outcomes in different cases.
- Non-verifiable losses: Certain losses, like emotional distress and loss of enjoyment of life, are intangible losses that are challenging to quantify objectively.
Additionally, if your case goes to trial, you may face jury bias. Jurors may be influenced by sympathy and other biases, affecting the amount awarded for pain and suffering.
Experienced personal injury attorneys are intimately familiar with the struggles of seeking pain and suffering damages. They can utilize their skills and resources to prove your losses and get you the best possible case result.
Other Damages That Could Be Available for Your Personal Injury Claim
Pain and suffering damages are typically available following accidents and incidents that leave victims injured. Along with pain and suffering damages, you may have the opportunity to pursue other damages based on your related losses and expenses, such as:
- Present and future medical expenses, including hospital stays, medications, and surgeries
- Therapy and rehabilitation costs
- Lost earnings
- Diminished or lost earning potential
- Property damage
- Disability
- Scarring and disfigurement
Along with compensatory damages, like economic and non-economic damages, you may also be entitled to receive punitive damages. Punitive damages differ from other types of damages as they serve as punishment for defendants. Plaintiffs may have the chance to seek these damages when a defendant’s intentional, malicious, or grossly negligent actions result in serious harm.
Accurately calculating the full value of your damages is key. Your personal injury lawyer will evaluate several details, including the severity of your injuries, the total cost of your medical expenses, and your ability to return to work, to determine how much your case is worth. Understanding the full monetary value of your case helps ensure you get the financial recovery you need.
Do You Need an Attorney to Pursue Personal Injury Damages?
It’s normal to doubt your need for legal assistance after suffering harm at the hands of another. You can just handle your case alone, right? While you’re free to represent yourself throughout your case, hiring a skilled attorney is always a better choice.
Sustaining injuries in an accident or unfortunate incident can not only impact you physically and mentally, but also financially. Depending on the severity of your situation, the financial burdens may be too much to bear, and you may find yourself in an unfortunate situation. This is where your compensation claim comes in.
When you want to put yourself in the best position to get the financial recovery you’re owed, you should not hesitate to hire a personal injury attorney. A lawyer knows how to properly and efficiently handle your claim to get you the most beneficial outcome.
Throughout your case, your attorney will do everything necessary to establish liability and successfully prove the full extent of your monetary and non-monetary losses, including pain and suffering. Having a lawyer on your side can yield much more favorable results than going at it alone.
As soon as possible after suffering your injuries, consult with a local personal injury lawyer. An attorney can provide the care and support you need while fighting aggressively to obtain full financial recovery.
Time Limits to Pursue Damages
Civil cases are subject to statutes of limitations, laws that limit the time plaintiffs have to file their claims in court. The statute of limitations for your situation depends on the type of case you’re filing. For example, the time limit for car accident cases may differ from that for wrongful death.
Generally, statutes of limitations for personal injury cases only allow between one to six years. While there may be certain exceptions to your statute of limitations, you can expect to work against the clock.
Failing to file your claim timely can negatively impact your ability to recover compensation. Should you miss your time window, you can lose your right to receive any damages at all. The sooner you begin working on your case, the greater your chances to pursue justice and financial recovery.
Consult with a Lawyer Concerning Your Pain and Suffering Damages
When you’re injured by another’s wrongful actions, you may have the right to seek monetary recovery. A seasoned personal injury attorney can provide guidance concerning your losses.
Calculating pain and suffering damages requires a balance between legal principles, evidence, and empathy. Lawyers play a vital role in presenting compelling arguments and evidence to justify the compensation sought for their clients’ non-economic losses. As courts continue to refine their approaches to assessing these damages, the goal remains to provide just compensation that acknowledges the serious effects of injuries on individuals’ lives.
While the calculation of pain and suffering damages may lack the precision of economic damages, it is a vital component to ensuring justice in personal injury cases. Losses go beyond the financial alone, and non-economic damages, like pain and suffering, can help compensate for these additional but equally impactful losses.
Remember, each personal injury case is unique, and the calculation of pain and suffering damages can vary. Consulting with a lawyer who specializes in personal injury cases is the best way to ensure your rights are protected and you receive fair compensation for your pain and suffering.
