Personal Injury Lawsuits’ Pain and Suffering Damages

In some personal injury cases, parties may include pain and suffering damages and receive a compensation for the physical and emotional suffering they endure as a result of an accident. Plaintiffs may receive the damages in some countries as a sort of compensatory damages.

They fall under the heading of non-economic damages rather than economic damages. Additional instances of non-economic harms include:

• loss of connection
• loss of life’s joy

How are Damages for Pain and Suffering Determined?

There is no set formula for calculating the monetary worth of a pain and suffering award in personal injury cases where compensation is granted for non-economic losses.

Usually, accident victims or people who have been hurt have to provide evidence that they were hurt physically or psychologically. A judge or jury will then decide on a fair monetary sum for pain and suffering damages using their discretion. While compensating parties that were harmed or accident sufferers for subjective losses, pain and suffering damages are frequently supported by objective proof, such as loss of enjoyment of life.

Are Damages for Pain and Suffering Considered to Include Emotional Distress?

Yes. Damages for pain and suffering could include emotional anguish. “Emotional anguish” refers to the mental harm a person experiences as a result of a physical injury or accident. These are some instances of emotional distress:

• fear
• worry
• tears
• lack of sleep
• despair
• embarrassment

If a claimant experiences emotional distress without a corresponding physical damage, they may still be eligible to collect compensation for their pain and suffering.  However, it is frequently advisable for a plaintiff in these situations to obtain some sort of mental health counseling.

Having a counselor testify is especially suitable when the plaintiff has severe subjective symptoms like:

• sleep issues
• anxiety
• PTSD
• other related symptoms that are challenging to diagnose with objective tests

What is a Multiplier for Pain and Suffering?

In order to calculate pain and suffering claims, parties (such as attorneys, plaintiffs, and insurers/insurance adjusters) frequently employ a “multiplier approach.”

With this approach, one totals up all economic losses related to a case. After that, the party doubles that sum by a specific quantity (typically between 1 and 5, with 3 are common).

The precise multiplier applied in a case will depend on how badly someone was hurt. In cases of light injuries, persons will use a low multiplier (such as 1 or 2), but parties may use a higher multiplier (such as 4 or 5) in cases of serious injuries.

In the following circumstances, a greater multiplier may be used:

• extreme sorts of pain
• lifetime medical care
• lost wages as a result of a disability
• severe injuries involving fractured bones
• decreased quality of life

It is common to compare and contrast the multiplier method with the pier diem methodology for measuring pain and suffering.

In the latter, attorneys for the plaintiffs, plaintiffs’ representatives, and an insurance provider attempt to determine a particular monetary sum for each day the plaintiff feels pain and suffering as a result of an injury.

Damages for pain and suffering are they taxable?

The basic rule is that neither state nor federal law applies to the money a plaintiff obtains in a personal injury case. This is valid in terms of compensation for both economic and non-economic losses.

The majority of states state that this rule applies when a plaintiff experiences any of the following:

• physical illness
• bodily damage

This implies that a party’s damages may be subject to taxation if they get damages for emotional distress (but not for physical harm).

Glendale Personal Injury Lawyer

We encourage you or a loved one to get in touch with our legal office for further information or to discuss your case with one of our personal injury attorneys. Please feel free to give our office a call at 310.943.1171.