How is Pain and Suffering Calculated?

If you have been injured by another party’s negligence or wrongdoing, you may be entitled to financial compensation for your damages. Your damages may include economic and non-economic losses. Economic losses are tangible losses that can be objectively ascertained with receipts, invoices, and other documentation. Non-economic losses on the other hand are not so easily computed. Pain and suffering is one of those non-economic losses that can be difficult to put a value on. California law recognizes that a person may suffer anxiety, humiliation, embarrassment, shock, nervousness, and grief, in addition to the physical pain caused by their injury. Translating these subjective states into monetary loss is where the difficulty lies.

Determining the Value of Your Pain and Suffering

When making a claim for damages, you must include the value of the damages you are claiming for, this includes your pain and suffering. While California law does not impose a fixed standard for calculating the value of pain and suffering, there are some commonly used methods.

Per diem method – this method considers the number of days a victim has suffered and will continue to experience pain and suffering from the injury, and set a dollar amount for each day. For example, if a person suffers extensive injuries in a car accident with a one-year recovery prognosis, and a daily rate of $300 is determined, the total value for pain and suffering would be $109,500.

Multiplier method – this method totals the victim’s economic damages and multiplies it by a number between 1.5 and 5. The multiplier number used will depend on a number of factors including the severity of the victim’s injuries, the impact on their day-to-day life, and any fault apportioned to the victim. For example, if the victim is severely injured and has medical bills totaling $100,000, a multiplier of 4 may be selected because of the severe injuries. The victim’s pain and suffering under this method would be $400,000.

Under both methods, the more severe patient injuries that have a greater impact on the victim’s day-to-day life will result in higher recoverable pain and suffering. However, these formulas do not guarantee a victim’s recovery of the full value of their pain and suffering. Other factors such as the location where the injury occurred or where the trial is held may also impact how much a victim can recover for their pain and suffering.

How Can a Lawyer Help you?

If you or a loved one has been injured due to the negligence or wrongdoing of another person, you will need an experienced personal injury lawyer to help you get the full compensation you deserve. Your accident lawyer in San Diego will know what evidence is required to prove the extent of the damages you claim and will have the resources to thoroughly investigate your case and properly calculate your damages.

At CaseyGerry, our San Diego personal injury attorneys will diligently pursue your claim and protect your interests to make sure that you get the maximum compensation you deserve for your pain and suffering. Contact us today for a free consultation. Call us today at 619-679-9972.