An important element of any car accident settlement is pain and suffering. Pain and suffering, also referred to as non-economic damages, is meant to compensate an accident victim for the non-monetary losses she sustained or is likely to sustain as a result of the defendant’s negligence. Pain and suffering is typically associated with the physical and emotional pain associated with an accident victim’s injuries, the medical procedures and surgeries required to treat those injuries, scarring and permanent disfigurement resulting from those injuries, and the potential shortening of life due to those injuries.
How is Pain and Suffering Calculated?
There is no set formula that is used in calculating pain and suffering. Generally, the total of all of the plaintiff’s medical bills will be multiplied by two, three, or even four to arrive at a pain and suffering figure. But this method of calculating pain and suffering is oversimplified and often results in a figure that doesn’t even come close to the pain and suffering a plaintiff may have actually suffered or may currently be suffering.
Calculating damages for pain and suffering can be difficult because the factors to be considered are often intangible and very subjective. Relevant factors to be considered in arriving at the amount of a pain and suffering award are:
- The types of injuries sustained by the plaintiff;
- The severity of the plaintiff’s injuries;
- The extent of the medical treatment required to treat the plaintiff’s injuries;
- The pain and discomfort associated with the medical treatment received by the plaintiff;
- Whether the plaintiff’s injuries are permanent or will heal over time;
- How long it will take the plaintiff to recover from his injuries;
- Whether the plaintiff will be permanently disabled or disfigured as a result of the injuries;
- How the plaintiff’s injuries have impacted his life and day-to-day activities;
- Whether the plaintiff suffered depression or other emotional or psychological trauma as a result of his injuries;
- Whether the plaintiff’s injuries will prevent him from returning to his job; and
- The long term impact the injuries will have on the plaintiff and whether those injuries will affect him for the remainder of his life.
There are a number of factors which may decrease a pain and suffering award. These factors include, but are not limited to:
- Whether the plaintiff has filed other personal injury lawsuits;
- Actions and behavior by the plaintiff which are inconsistent with those of someone who was injured;
- The plaintiff’s credibility as a witness;
- The credibility of other witnesses;
- The plaintiff’s character and reputation; and
- Whether the plaintiff was contributorily negligent.
Getting Legal Help
If you have been injured in a car accident, you need an experienced personal injury attorney on your side. A personal injury attorney will aggressively negotiate with the insurance company in an effort to help you get the compensation you deserve.
