Following injuries in a serious accident, you, as the victim, may want to know how much money you can expect. The amount you may recover for pain and suffering depends on several factors. The best course of action is always to consult a personal injury attorney to get a better idea of how much money you should expect for pain and suffering following your accident.
What Qualifies As Pain and Suffering?
Understanding what qualifies as pain and suffering helps connect measurable damages, like medical bills, with the hard-to-quantify physical and emotional impact after an accident.
In a generic sense, pain and suffering represent exactly that: the pain and suffering that go along with an injury. However, the term “pain and suffering” has a much deeper meaning. This section breaks down the main types of pain and suffering victims may experience after an accident.
Types of Damages in a Personal Injury Claim
In a personal injury claim following an accident caused by the negligence of another party, including car accidents, slip and falls, construction accidents, and product liability accidents, damages are usually get divided into two types: special damages and general damages.
What Are Special Damages?
Special damages include tangible expenses after an accident: your medical bills, lost earnings, and any other financial damages you can specifically lay out.
What Are General Damages?
General damages, on the other hand, are more abstract. They are compensation for non-economic losses. Pain and suffering are categorized under general damages.
Physical and Emotional Pain
Pain and suffering usually fall into two categories: physical suffering, including the pain of your injuries, and mental anguish. Many injury victims face both. Consider, for example, a slip and fall accident that results in a broken hip. The physical pain from such an accident can prove excruciating.
Many victims struggle to either stand or sit due to the pain of their injuries. Most victims need surgery to treat their injuries, and pain may linger long after the initial accident.
Emotional Distress and Quality of Life
In addition to the physical pain, victims with broken hips may face substantial emotional anguish. Many elderly victims, following a broken hip, never regain their former capability, including their ability to care for themselves. They may need to move into a nursing home or have to give up activities they once enjoyed.
Due to their lack of mobility, victims may also suffer from social isolation: they cannot get out and spend time with the people they care about. Many seniors with broken hips suffer just as much emotional devastation as they do physical.
Understanding the Pain and Suffering Multiplier
Pain and suffering usually get based on a percentage of the special damages from the claim, that is, the medical expenses, lost wages, and other tangible financial expenses. Often, the term “pain and suffering multiplier” is used, because the other damages from the claim get multiplied by the pain and suffering multiplier to arrive at the amount the victim will receive.
For example, if your economic damages total $50,000 and your pain and suffering multiplier is 3, your total compensation could reach $150,000. This example shows how even moderate injuries can significantly increase a claim’s overall value.
Quick Reference Example:
- Economic damages: $50,000
- Multiplier: 3x
- Total potential compensation: $150,000
How is Pain and Suffering Calculated?
There is no clear pain and suffering calculator, neither for a judge, jury, nor an insurance company. Typically, pain and suffering get based on a percentage of your special damages: usually between 1.5 and 5 times the special damages from your claim.
The law does not provide guidelines concerning how to calculate those amounts. However, several elements often come into play when determining the amount awarded for pain and suffering.
Key Factors That Influence Calculations
Understanding the variables that impact how compensation is determined can help set realistic expectations for your case.
Evaluating the Severity of Injuries
Severe injuries typically cause more suffering, in terms of both physical pain and mental anguish, than minor injuries.
For example, if you suffered severe burns in an auto accident, you may go through considerably more physical pain than if you broke your wrist. Burns usually cause severe, ongoing pain, more serious than other types of injuries.
Severe burns can also leave behind substantial scarring, which may increase mental anguish for many victims. Those severe injuries usually leave you with the right to greater compensation.
How Did Your Injuries Impact You?
In addition to the suffering assumed due to your injuries, an attorney can work with you to assess exactly how your injuries and your suffering impact every area of your life, including your profession, hobbies, and other activities.
Permanent Disability and Long-Term Impacts
Permanent disability can also increase the compensation you may recover for pain and suffering; it means you may live with the effects of the accident for the rest of your life.
Lifestyle Changes and Emotional Effects
An active individual who regularly engages in sports and other activities may have more emotional trauma related to those injuries than an individual who typically remains relatively sedentary, or whose favorite hobbies include video games, television, or reading.
Imagine, for example, that you suffered incomplete spinal cord damage in an accident. You can still move around, but you have stilted movement patterns and struggle to move quickly. As a result, you can no longer participate in sports or many other activities.
Family and Daily Life Impacts
The pain and suffering from an accident include disruptions in family life. The injuries from the accident may limit your ability to spend quality time with loved ones and participate in everyday family activities.
Mental Anguish and Psychological Recovery
Mental anguish may also vary depending on your response to an accident. Some victims struggle with severe PTSD following an auto accident, for example. They may have trouble getting into a car or driving past the accident site.
The Role of Insurance Limits
What protection does the at-fault driver’s insurance policy cover in the event of an accident?
Pain and suffering often represent the largest percentage of a personal injury claim, so if you have pain and suffering as well as extensive medical expenses, the insurance policy that covers the liable party may not offer enough protection to cover the full amount. Consult with an attorney to learn more about the insurance coverage of the liable party and how it has the potential to influence your claim.
Why Professional Guidance Matters
Consult with an experienced personal injury lawyer to get a better idea of how you can include pain and suffering in your personal injury claim. An experienced attorney can also help assess how your injuries impact you and ensure that your claim accurately reflects your suffering.
How Much Evidence Can You Provide of Your Pain and Suffering?
When it comes to personal injury claims, documentation and evidence go a long way toward helping your claim. You may need to provide clear evidence of how your injuries impact your life. Evidence may include:
- Statements from a doctor
- Medical records or bills
- Witness testimony
- Photos of your injuries
In many personal injury claims, the insurance company will attempt to minimize the compensation as much as possible. Without evidence, you cannot prove your suffering. As a result, the insurance company may not offer the compensation you feel you deserve for those injuries.
Get Legal Support for Your Pain and Suffering Claim
If you’ve suffered injuries in an accident caused by someone else’s negligence, you don’t have to face the aftermath alone. The Joel Bieber Firm has decades of experience helping clients recover full and fair compensation for their pain and suffering.
Our attorneys handle every step of the process from investigating your accident and gathering evidence to negotiating with insurance companies and pursuing your case in court if needed. We work on a contingency fee basis, meaning you don’t pay anything unless we win your case.
Contact The Joel Bieber Firm today for a free consultation. Let our experienced personal injury lawyers help you understand your rights, evaluate your claim, and fight for the justice and compensation you deserve.