How is Compensation for Pain and Suffering Calculated?

After getting into an accident, the damage afterward extends beyond medical bills and physical injuries. Pain and suffering include physical and emotional suffering, which forms a significant part of personal injury claims. However, unlike economic damages, pain and suffering can be difficult to calculate due to their nature. 

When seeking compensation for pain and suffering, it is important to contact an attorney familiar with the approaches used to assign value to the damages. This article will discuss calculating compensation for pain and suffering to ensure victims get fair compensation for their hardships. 

Understanding Pain and Suffering

Pain and suffering are non-economic losses, which means they don’t have a fixed dollar amount. Instead, they are subjective and can vary significantly depending on the severity of the injury and its impact on the victim’s life.

Pain and suffering typically include:

• Physical pain: It refers to the direct pain resulting from an injury or medical condition.
• Emotional distress: Anxiety, depression, fear, or any psychological effect the injury may cause.
• Loss of enjoyment of life: An injury impacts one’s ability to participate in daily activities or hobbies.
• Loss of consortium: The negative impact on relationships, such as a spouse’s loss of companionship or sexual relations due to the injury.

Methods Used to Calculate Pain and Suffering

There are two main methods used to arrive at the amount a victim gets as compensation for pain and suffering. These are the multiplier method and per diem technique. 

The Multiplier Method

It is one of the most common methods for calculating pain and suffering. It works by multiplying the total economic damages, such as lost wages and medical bills, by a number between 1.5 and 5. The value of the multiplier depends on how much pain and suffering a victim went through. 

The factors affecting the multiplier methods are:

• The extent and permanence of the injury.
• How the injury affects a victim’s daily life and their earning potential in the future.
• The victim’s age, health, and lifestyle before the accident.

Here is how it works:

• Step 1: Calculate the economic damages incurred by the victim. 
• Step 2: Choose an appropriate multiplier. A low multiplier between 1.5 and 2 can be used for minor injuries with relatively quick recovery time. A high multiplier, or around 4-5, is typically used for severe injuries that cause long-term disability or completely disrupt a person’s life.
• Step 3: Multiply the economic damages by the chosen multiplier to estimate the pain and suffering. 

For example: The victim might consider the injury moderately severe if they incur losses of around $25,000 due to the accident. Therefore, a multiplier of around 3 might be applied, bringing the total figure to $75,000. 

The multiplier method is easier and more effective when there is clear documentation of the damages. However, the multiplier number can sometimes be subjective, which can cause disputes with the insurers. 

The Per Diem Formula

Per diem is a Latin legal term that means “per day.” This formula assigns a value to the victim’s pain and suffering. The number, or rather amount, is multiplied by the days a victim had to go through pain and suffering after an accident. 

The advantage of the per diem method is that the formula is more simple. It also works very well for injuries with a clear recovery timeline. The main challenge is that the daily rate assigned can sometimes be unfair. Also, it doesn’t include the fact that pain can vary from one day to another. Additionally, the amount can be impractical for long-term injuries. 

Below is a step-by-step illustration of how the per diem method works:

• Step 1: Determine an appropriate daily rate for the victim’s pain and suffering. They often determine this based on their income or an amount deemed fair according to the injuries.
• Step 2: Estimate the period of pain and suffering from the day of the injury to the expected recovery date or when the victim can improve. 
• Step 3: Multiply the daily rate by the number of days. 

For instance, if the amount is $300 and the victim’s injury caused pain and suffering for 100 days, the total will be $30,000. 

Conclusion

Pain and suffering are essential parts of personal injury claims, and the two most common methods used are per diem and multiplier techniques. Getting fair compensation requires understanding these two different methods used and which one suits the victim’s injuries.