FAQs About Pain and Suffering Damages for a Car Accident

If you're involved in a car accident, you may experience persistent conditions after you have completed your medication. For example, you may experience a phobia for cars, sink into depression, or have persistent headaches. This is one of the reasons many accident victims claim pain and suffering damages.

Your personal accident lawyer can help you get a fair pain and suffering award. Here's all you need to know about pain and suffering damages.

What Is Pain and Suffering?

There are two classifications of pain and suffering. There is physical and mental pain and suffering. The former represents the actual physical injuries. This includes the pain and discomfort you have endured and the effects of the injuries that will continue to affect you in the future.

Mental pain and suffering is a product of physical injuries. It includes anger, anxiety, emotional distress, and shock. It's any negative emotion you experience because of the physical pain you have suffered after an accident.

Severe mental pain and suffering can be in the form of post-traumatic stress disorder. Like physical pain, mental pain and suffering isn't limited to the effects you're feeling but extends to the suffering you're likely to suffer from in the future.

What to Consider Before Suing for Pain and Suffering Damages?

Many auto-accidents cases end in out-of-court settlements. Therefore, you need to check the state laws and insurance company guidelines that will affect your claim for pain and suffering damages. Watch out for limitations in the form of damage caps and the no-fault system.

Some states have damage caps on pain and suffering damages. These caps limit the amount of damages you stand to get. For example, in Oklahoma, the damage cap on pain and suffering damages is $350,000.

In states that follow the no-fault system, you can recover damages in limited circumstances no matter who is at fault. In these states, your injuries have to meet certain standards for you to get compensation for pain and suffering.

How Is Pain and Suffering Calculated?

When calculating pain and suffering, the insurance adjuster will use any of two methods: the multiplier method or the per diem method. With the multiplier method, the insurance adjuster will multiply your actual damages (medical expenses and lost income) by a certain number.

Often, your attorney or the insurance adjuster will multiply the actual damages with a multiplier. A software program generates this multiplier. The multiplier varies depending on the severity of your injuries, the duration of your recovery, and any aggravating situations.

For example, if you have a broken femur, you'll need to go through several surgeries before you recover. This pain and suffering is greater than if you suffer from a minor collision injury. The multiplier in the serious accident may be somewhere between 3 and 4, while the multiplier for a minor accident is between 1 and 2.

Another method used to calculate pain and suffering is the per diem method. After you have completed your medication, you still may be experiencing some pain and suffering. With the per diem method, your lawyer or the insurance adjuster will assign a daily rate, or a fixed amount of money, to every day you continue to suffer.

For example, let say your lawyer or the insurance adjuster uses a daily value of $200. They'll multiply this value over a certain period of time, like 3 months. One of the factors used to determine the daily rate is the income you would make on any given day if you weren't involved in the accident.

Calculating and claiming pain and suffering damages in your personal injury case is easier said than done. The insurance company will give you a hard time before they accept any settlement. Frank W. Thompson is here to improve your chances of a fair damage award. Give us a call and let us review your case.