How Much Is My Pain and Suffering Worth?

After being involved in an accident, you may be surprised to learn that you may be eligible for compensation for your pain and suffering. This means that if you suffer from excruciating and/or chronic pain after a slip and fall accident or motor vehicle accident, you may be able to claim this as a loss when it comes to the damages you are owed from the responsible party. However, you must first find out how much your pain and suffering is worth, which will give you an idea of how much compensation to expect at the end of your case.

Why is calculating your pain and suffering difficult?

When you file a personal injury claim, there are specific types of damages that are easy to calculate, such as economic damages. The reason that economic damages are easier to calculate is because accountants and other professionals can look at your losses and tally up the amount to the exact penny that you are owed.

A common example of economic damages frequently mentioned during personal injury hearings is medical expenses. When determining the value of your medical expenses, your attorney will work with professionals to determine how much money you should receive to cover your current and future medical bills based on your injuries, doctor statements, medical records, tests, and more.

However, calculating damages for your pain and suffering can be much more difficult. There is no calculator that you can enter a number based on your expenses or bills to represent your pain and suffering. Therefore, pain and suffering is considered to be non-economic damages.

What makes these types of damages different from economic damages is that they are not meant to pay for your financial losses, but instead, are meant to compensate you for the trials and tribulations that you have endured due to the accident. It is crucial that you know and understand that you may receive a different amount of compensation for your pain and suffering compared to what someone else may have received. This is because the compensation amount for this type of damage varies from person to person, even if the pain and suffering is on a similar level.

What factors go into calculating pain and suffering?

• How severe your injuries are
• How long you have been suffering and experiencing pain
• How your injuries have affected your life
• How healthy you are and your age
• Whether or not you played a role in the car accident or slip and fall accident

The multiplier method vs. the daily method

There are two common methods used to determine a potential compensation amount that is fair for your pain and suffering. These methods are the multiplier method and the daily method. Your personal injury lawyer may recommend using both to see if you get different amounts for each, or they may prefer one over the other. Below, we will go over the details of both the multiplier method and the daily method.

• The multiplier method: The multiplier method is a great way to calculate your pain and suffering. An example of when this method may be used is if you are injured in an ATV accident due to a negligent operator, and you are suffering from tremendous amounts of pain and emotional trauma. Your lawyer will look over your case and determine how much your medical expenses are. After your lawyer has added up the total amount of your medical expenses, they will need to determine what multiplier to use. Your multiplier can only be a number between one and five, and this number represents your pain level. This means that if your medical expenses are $15,000 so far and your attorney uses a multiplier of three, your pain and suffering damages will be $45,000. Therefore, if you have a lot of pain, your attorney will likely use a four or five as the multiplier, but if your pain level is low, they will likely use a one or two.
• The daily method: Another common method to calculate your pain and suffering is the daily method. The daily method, also frequently referred to as the per diem method, sets a dollar amount on specific days that you mentally or emotionally suffer as well as experience pain from your injuries. While this method is very easy to use, many attorneys and insurance companies prefer the multiplier method. The reason for this is because the dollar amount provided for the days that you are in pain or suffering may seem unreasonable to the insurance company or judge. However, an experienced, skilled, and knowledgeable Alton personal injury lawyer will do everything they can to show why you deserve that amount.

Why do you want a lawyer to calculate your pain and suffering damages instead of your insurance company?

Although you may think that your insurance company has your back during difficult situations, you will soon find out that insurance companies are actually trained to find any way possible to provide you with lesser amounts than what you are owed. Therefore, if you allow your insurance company to calculate your pain and suffering damages, they will most likely try to make your damages less than what they actually are. They will likely offer you a low-ball amount in hopes that you will take it, which will save them money in the long run.

Instead, work with a personal injury attorney from Glisson Law, who will put your needs first. By allowing your attorney to calculate your damages instead of your insurance company, you can rest assured knowing that you are in good hands and that your damages will be fairly and accurately calculated.

If you have recently been injured in any type of accident and want to make sure that your pain and suffering damages are correct and fair, the personal injury lawyers at Glisson Law are here to help. These types of damages can be very complicated, but a member of our team will gladly step in to help you determine how much compensation you should receive. Submit our contact form or call our office to ensure that you have a strong chance of receiving the full amount of money that you are entitled to today. Our team’s office is based in Alton, but we proudly serve clients in Edwardsville, St. Clair, Belleville, and Madison Counties, Missouri, and all of Illinois.