Pain and suffering damages are a significant part of many personal injury claims. After an accident, victims not only experience financial losses and expenses, but many also endure extreme physical and emotional suffering. The law allows these victims to recover compensation for those intangible losses, but calculating their value can sometimes be challenging.
Keep reading below to learn exactly how pain and suffering damages are calculated in California.
What Are Pain and Suffering Damages?
Pain and suffering damages are a category of compensatory damages available after an accident.
They are considered non-economic damages because they do not compensate victims for a specific financial loss. Instead, they compensate victims for the physical and emotional pain and trauma they had to go through. However, these intangible damages are just as real as the monetary losses a victim experiences.
Calculating the Value of Pain and Suffering Damages
There are many factors that can affect the value of your pain and suffering damages. Ultimately, the more severe your injuries, the higher the value of your pain and suffering damages is likely to be. Your case must be evaluated based on all your injuries as well as how your life has been affected.
Some common factors that will affect the value of your pain and suffering damages include:
- The severity of your injuries
- The length of your recovery
- Whether you will be left with any permanent effects or disabilities
- How your daily life has been affected by your injuries
- How your relationships with friends and family have been affected
- Whether you can still participate in hobbies and other activities as you did prior to the accident
- The amount of psychological trauma caused by the accident
In many cases, the value of your pain and suffering damages may far exceed your financial damages. Calculating the value of pain and suffering damages is not an exact science, but there are two primary methods used to do so.
Multiplier Method
The multiplier method is the most common way to calculate pain and suffering damages.
Using this method, a multiplier between 1 and 5 will be assigned to your case based on the severity of your injuries. The more severe your injuries are, the higher your multiplier will be. The multiplier is then applied to your economic damages total to give you the value of your pain and suffering damages.
For example, suppose you were injured in a car accident and suffered moderate injuries. Your claim is assigned a multiplier of 2.5 based on your injuries. If your economic damages totaled $20,000, then your pain and suffering damages would likely be valued around $50,000 ($20,000 x 2.5).
This calculation is not always exact, but it typically serves as a great starting point for negotiation in personal injury claims.
Per Diem Method
Another way to calculate pain and suffering damages is known as the per diem method. This calculation is less common, but it is still used today. Using this method, your claim is assigned a daily pain and suffering value based on the severity of your injuries. This daily value is then multiplied by the number of days it took you to recover.
For instance, imagine that you are hurt in an accident and suffer moderate injuries. Your daily value is assigned at $300 per day. If it took you 200 days to recover from the accident, your pain and suffering damages are likely worth somewhere around $60,000 ($300/day x 200 days).
Proving the Value of Your Pain and Suffering Damages
Just because you are hurt in an accident doesn’t mean that the insurance company will just hand over money for your pain and suffering. You will need evidence to prove the pain and suffering that you endured.
There are many types of evidence that may be used, and some common examples include:
- Medical records
- Diagnostic imaging or test results, such as X-rays, CT scans, and MRIs
- Physician statements
- Physical therapy records
- Mental health records or counseling notes
- Pain journals
- “Day in the life” journals
The California Rules of Evidence will govern which specific pieces of evidence are admissible in your case. An experienced personal injury lawyer can help you gather and present all the evidence needed to prove your case.
Contact the El Segundo Personal Injury Lawyers at J. Hartley Law Personal Injury Lawyers for a Free Consultation
If you have been hurt in an accident, you may be able to recover significant compensation for your pain and suffering as well as your medical bills, lost wages, and more. The team at J. Hartley Law Personal Injury Lawyers has recovered tens of millions of dollars in compensation for our clients, so we know what it takes to win injury claims.
Contact our El Segundo personal injury lawyers today to schedule a free consultation at (323) 284-2834 with an experienced personal injury attorney who is ready to help you pursue compensation for your pain and suffering damages.