Pain and suffering may play a major role in your settlement amount after an accident. However, this element can be difficult to understand. How would you assign a dollar value to physical and emotional distress? A pain and suffering lawyer, Warner & Fitzmartin, can let you know what compensation accident survivors have received in similar cases.
What Does “Pain and Suffering” Mean?
An injury settlement covers both economic and non-economic damages. Economic damages refer to any accident-related expenses you can document and calculate, like medical bills, car repair costs, missed days at work, and traveling for medical appointments.
In contrast, non-economic damages, or pain and suffering, encompass all the real but non-quantifiable harm you suffered because of the accident, like mental anguish, physical pain, anxiety, and depression. Pain and suffering may also include meaningful activities you miss out on, like traveling, sports, or spending time with your family.
It’s natural to ask, “How does this translate into numbers?” After all, who decides the financial value of your distress over permanent scars or your reduced quality of life?
What Decides Your Pain and Suffering Compensation Amount?
Every personal injury case is different. Compensations, including non-economic damages, can be hard to predict. The type and severity of your injury, as stated in your medical records, your recovery prospects, your injury’s impact on your career and relationships, and other considerations may all influence the size of your settlement.
The same injury may impact two people differently. For example, while an office worker may return to their job with a minor chronic handicap, a similar impairment could end a professional athlete’s career.
Because evaluating pain and suffering is more complicated than adding up bills, the free personal injury calculators you may find online usually aren’t accurate. If you suffered a serious injury, talk to an experienced lawyer who can give you a reliable assessment of how much your case is worth.
Calculating Pain and Suffering
Insurance adjusters and pain and suffering lawyers often use one of two methods to calculate pain and suffering damages: the “per diem” and multiplier methods. Florida currently doesn’t impose a cap on compensation for pain and suffering.
The Per Diem Method
Under this approach, the accident victim receives a set amount of money as compensation for pain and suffering for every day of recovery. The per diem method may work well for short-term injuries with a limited recovery period.
For example, if your recovery lasts 60 days and your daily pain and suffering amount is $200, your total pain and suffering compensation would be $12,000.
The Multiplier Method
The multiplier method is more common for injuries without a clearly defined recovery time. This method requires tallying up the victim’s total financial damages, including current and prospective medical costs, lost wages, and the earnings they expect to lose because of reduced employability.
The lawyer or adjuster will then multiply the economic losses by a factor from 1.5 to 5. Generally, the degree of your injury and its effect on your life will decide the multiplier.
For example, if your tangible losses are $50,000 and your pain and suffering multiplier is 4, your total settlement would be $50,000 + (4 x $50,000) = $250,000.
Warner & Fitzmartin, PLLC: Standing Up for Injury Victims in Palm Beach County
Do you wonder how compensation for physical and emotional pain works? Contact us for a quick, reliable evaluation by an experienced pain and suffering lawyer. Our legal team will assess your case and help you understand how non-economic damages may factor into your settlement.
Schedule a free consultation at (561) 803-0167 or online.