How Is Pain and Suffering Calculated After an Accident?

Immediately after your personal injury accident, the most glaring issues may be your physical health issues and the financial commitments to treat them sufficiently. Once you address these things, and you have time to reflect on the whole situation, you may realize that you have not been the same since, and you will likely never return to the standard and quality of life you were once accustomed to and loved. This may mean that you are experiencing the aftereffects of pain and suffering. With that being said, please read on to discover how pain and suffering are considered and calculated for your claim and how a seasoned Broward County personal injury attorney at The Finizio Law Group can confirm you receive an offer that is suitable given the unfortunate accident that has affected you.

What does pain and suffering mean in a personal injury case?

Pain and suffering are intangible, non-economic losses that commonly come after a personal injury accident. Even with these characteristics, though, it does not make it any less real for victims. That said, Florida civil law recognizes that bodily injuries can affect an individual’s daily life in ways that cannot easily be measured by incurred bills. For example, they may suffer from ongoing physical pain or discomfort, anxiety, depression, or emotional distress, and a loss of enjoyment of life or a diminished quality of life. 

To some capacity, these non-economic losses interact with economic damages. For example, with chronic pain, an individual may be prescribed long-term pain medications, which can be quite expensive. Or, with mental health issues, they may be unable to perform their original work at the same productivity, which may affect their income resources or earning capabilities. This is not to mention the need for counseling sessions with a psychologist, psychiatrist, or other professional to try to get this mental anguish under control. 

How is pain and suffering typically calculated after an accident?

Again, since pain and suffering are intangible, they may be more difficult to calculate than economic damages. With that, one of the most common methods for assigning a monetary value is through the multiplier method. Here, an insurance company may evaluate the seriousness of your incurred injury, its recovery time, and your predicted experience with long-term limitations. Then, they may assign a value anywhere between 1.5 and five.

As you may assume, the higher the multiplier, the more catastrophic your injuries may be seen as. From here, this number will be multiplied by the total amount of your claimed economic damages. This is what an insurer will ultimately offer to pay you in a settlement agreement. Of course, there is always the chance that an insurer will attempt to lowball you and minimize what you have gone through. This is when we may advise you to take your claim to court.

If you want to ensure you are taking your legal claim in the right direction, it helps to have the guidance of a competent Broward County personal injury attorney. Call The Finizio Law Group and retain our legal services today.