After a serious accident, financial losses such as medical bills and lost wages can be relatively straightforward to document. However, an injury can also affect your physical comfort, emotional well-being, independence, and overall quality of life. These consequences may be compensated through pain and suffering damages.
Unlike medical expenses, pain and suffering does not come with a specific bill or receipt. Determining its value requires looking closely at the nature of the injuries, their impact on the injured person, and how long those effects are expected to last.
What Are Pain and Suffering Damages?
Pain and suffering damages are a type of non-economic damages available in many personal injury cases. Economic damages compensate an injured person for measurable financial losses, while non-economic damages address losses that do not have an obvious monetary value.
Pain and suffering may include:
- Physical pain and discomfort
- Emotional distress
- Mental anguish
- Loss of enjoyment of life
- Sleep difficulties
- Anxiety or fear related to the accident
- Scarring or disfigurement
- Loss of mobility or independence
- Difficulty participating in hobbies and recreational activities
These damages recognize that the consequences of an injury can extend far beyond the amount appearing on a medical bill.
Is There a Formula for Calculating Pain and Suffering?
There is generally no universal formula for calculating pain and suffering damages in a personal injury claim. Insurance companies, attorneys, judges, and juries may evaluate numerous factors when determining what constitutes fair compensation.
Two methods are commonly discussed when estimating pain and suffering: the multiplier method and the per diem method. Neither method automatically determines what a claim is worth, but they can illustrate how non-economic damages might be evaluated.
The Multiplier Method
Under the multiplier method, an injured person’s economic damages are multiplied by a number intended to reflect the seriousness of their pain and suffering.
For example, suppose someone has $30,000 in qualifying economic damages. If a multiplier of three is used, their estimated pain and suffering damages would be $90,000.
The multiplier may increase or decrease depending on the circumstances. A relatively minor injury that heals completely within a short period could justify a lower figure, while permanent impairment, extensive treatment, or significant disruption to someone’s daily life could support a higher amount.
Importantly, insurance companies do not necessarily use a standard multiplier, and an injured person should not assume that multiplying their medical expenses by a particular number accurately reflects the value of their claim.
What Is the Per Diem Method?
The per diem method assigns a dollar amount to each day an injured person experiences pain and suffering.
For example, if a daily value of $200 is assigned and the person experiences significant symptoms for 150 days, this approach would produce an estimated value of $30,000.
Choosing an appropriate daily rate can be challenging. The amount should have a reasonable basis, and the duration of the person’s symptoms must also be supported by evidence.
The per diem approach may be more useful for injuries with a relatively clear recovery period. It can become more difficult to apply when someone experiences permanent injuries or long-term symptoms without a predictable end date.
What Factors Affect the Value of Pain and Suffering?
Because every injury affects people differently, determining pain and suffering damages requires examining the individual circumstances of the case.
Important considerations may include:
- Severity of the injury: Traumatic brain injuries, spinal cord injuries, severe burns, and other catastrophic conditions can substantially affect someone’s life.
- Length of recovery: An injury requiring months or years of treatment may support greater damages than an injury that resolves quickly.
- Permanent limitations: Lasting disabilities or physical restrictions can affect a person’s independence and quality of life for decades.
- Medical treatment: Surgery, hospitalization, rehabilitation, injections, and other extensive treatments may demonstrate the seriousness of an injury.
- Daily limitations: Injuries may prevent someone from driving, exercising, performing household tasks, caring for children, or participating in hobbies.
- Emotional effects: Anxiety, depression, embarrassment, fear, and other psychological consequences may contribute to non-economic damages.
- Scarring and disfigurement: Permanent changes to someone’s appearance can have significant physical and emotional consequences.
- Age and lifestyle: A permanent limitation may affect an injured person’s activities and future experiences differently depending on their circumstances.
Ultimately, the strength of the evidence demonstrating these effects can be just as important as the nature of the injury itself.
How Do You Prove Pain and Suffering?
Since pain and suffering cannot simply be established with a receipt, evidence plays an important role in documenting how an accident changed someone’s life.
Medical records can demonstrate the severity of injuries, symptoms, treatments, and recovery. Photographs may document visible injuries, surgical procedures, or scarring. Statements from family members, friends, and coworkers can also describe changes they observed following the accident.
An injured person’s own testimony can be particularly important. They may explain how their injuries interfere with everyday activities, relationships, sleep, hobbies, work, and personal independence.
Keeping a journal during recovery may also help document symptoms and limitations. Specific examples can provide a clearer picture than simply stating that an injury was painful.
Contact a Colorado Personal Injury Lawyer at Kimball Injury Law, LLC for a Free Consultation
Pain and suffering damages may be negotiated with an insurance company or determined by a judge or jury if a case goes to trial. Colorado law can also affect the amount of non-economic damages available.
Kimball Injury Law, LLC can evaluate your case, document your losses, and pursue fair compensation for the impact of your injuries. Contact us today for a free consultation.
