In addition to economic damages, like medical bills and lost wages, victims of personal injury incident may claim compensation for non-economic damages, like pain and suffering. Personally, if you experience physical discomfort, mental anguish, and a diminished quality of life following your incident, this may be enough to cite pain and suffering in your case. The remaining question, though, is how much you can receive for this intangible concept. Well, please follow along to find out the different methods for calculating pain and suffering and how a talented Tom Green County, Texas personal injury lawyer at The Mathis Law Firm, PLLC, can help you earn a fair amount back.
What are the different methods for calculating pain and suffering?
Whether you are attempting to settle with an insurance company or litigating your claim in a Texas civil court, calculating your pain and suffering is likely handled in one of two ways. Firstly, there is the multiplier method. This quantifies your non-economic damages into a factor between 1.5 and five. For example, you may be given a 1.5 if you only incurred minor injuries, but a five if these are deemed catastrophic. Then, this factor is multiplied by your total economic damages to produce a final amount for your monetary payout.
Secondly, there is the per diem method. This assigns a daily dollar value to your pain and suffering, which is usually based on your daily lost wages or another relevant loss. From here, this value is multiplied by the number of days you experienced such loss to come up with the total cost of your pain and suffering. Of course, the longer this period is, the more financial compensation you may receive for this. With that being said, this formula may only make sense to adopt if you have already reached a full recovery or your recovery timeline is clear.
What are the factors that may increase pain and suffering compensation?
For your personal injury case, it is critical that you provide enough evidence that demonstrates the true extent of your lived experience with pain and suffering. This is so that the multiplier or per diem method can produce an accurate output. Therefore, below are some factors that you should most definitely mention if applicable, as they may increat your pain and suffering compensation:
- You incurred a serious injury, like a traumatic brain injury or spinal cord damage.
- You incurred a permanent injury, which means chronic pain and lifelong limitations.
- Your recovery was lengthy, entailing multiple surgeries, extended hospital stays, etc.
- Your physical trauma caused emotional distress (i.e., post-traumatic stress disorder).
- Your pain restrains you from doing the things you once enjoyed, causing depression.
If you want to ensure you are taking your legal claim in the right direction, it helps to have the guidance of a proficient Tom Green County, Texas personal injury lawyer. Call The Mathis Law Firm, PLLC, and retain our legal services today.
