What is Pain and Suffering Worth in a Car Accident Claim?
Every year, 160,000 car accidents are recorded in Colorado. Even if the drivers and passengers engaged in these collisions are fortunate enough to escape with minor injuries, they are rattled.
They may feel apprehensive about driving on the same route or even getting into a car. They may experience despair, flashbacks to the accident, nightmares, and sleeplessness, to mention a few mental health difficulties.
DOES THIS RING TRUE FOR YOU?
You may be concentrating on paying your expenses and putting the accident behind you for the time being. Perhaps a little voice within your brain is encouraging you to “get over it.” However, you should never strive to bury your emotions.
You know you have the legal right to sue the at-fault driver for medical expenses, car repair bills, and lost wages—but what about the emotional anguish you experienced during and after the accident?
The law weighs a victim’s emotional discomfort and suffering, as well as their financial losses, in every personal injury lawsuit. This implies you might be eligible for damages for your pain and suffering.
In the sections below, we’ll show you how to define, quantify, and establish pain and suffering following an car accident.
Now is the time to seek legal assistance. Call 719-300-1100 or send us an email to tell us about your experience and get a free case review right now.
IN A CAR ACCIDENT, WHAT CONSTITUTES PAIN AND SUFFERING?
First and foremost, what is pain and suffering in the context of a car accident?
Your losses are referred to as “damages” in a car accident claim. Your claim includes several different types of damages. You can estimate how much a car accident settlement will cost you by adding up all of your losses.
Economic damages are monetary losses incurred due to the accident, such as the cost of repairing your car or obtaining an x-ray. You may obtain paid for these costs by
submitting a claim. (Money damages, special damages, and financial damages are all terms used to describe economic damages.)
Non-economic damages, also known as non-pecuniary losses or general damages, pertain to more abstract ideas like emotional discomfort and bodily agony due to the car accident and the injuries you incurred. “Pain and suffering” is a term used to describe these concerns.
Here are a few instances of sorrow and pain: Anxiety and depression
Anxiety and stress Insomnia
PTSD signs and symptoms (nightmares, flashbacks, etc.) Companionship loss
Loss of pleasure in life
Aches and pains throughout the body Disfigurement, scarring, and disability
As you can see, defining pain and suffering is tough. Everyone will respond to an accident differently, but no one reaction is more or less legitimate than another. The typical compensation for a back and neck injury in a car accident will be more than the average payout for a non-injury accident, but both parties may be anxious. That’s why settling a pain and suffering lawsuit without a lawyer is so tough.
WHAT FACTORS DO INSURANCE COMPANIES CONSIDER WHEN CALCULATING PAIN AND SUFFERING?
Pain and suffering, unlike economic losses, cannot be quantified in monetary terms. Instead, while measuring pain and suffering, insurance adjusters take into account questions like these:
How will the victim’s day-to-day existence be affected? Were they admitted to the hospital?
Do they have restricted mobility?
Do they have a lasting disability or disfigurement?
Will the injury affect their duties at home or work?
Is the sufferer having difficulty sleeping or engaging in pastimes that they used to enjoy?
All of this, and more, plays a role in determining how much pain and suffering a person has suffered as a result of a car accident.
Now that you know you may be eligible for compensation, how do you compute pain and suffering compensation? Let’s have a look at what we’ve got.
HOW DO YOU CALCULATE PAIN AND SUFFERING AFTER A CAR ACCIDENT?
Have you been in a car accident in Colorado? When the shock wears off, you’ve left with a slew of questions: “How much compensation should I seek for?” How much should I accept in exchange for anguish and pain? “How will I be able to verify my anguish and pain?”
Economic losses, such as a destroyed car or a costly operation, are simple to establish. All you need is a copy of the bill, receipt, or invoice, and the numbers will be printed in black and white on it. It’s a little more difficult to figure out how to compute damages for pain and suffering. A personal injury value calculator may be approached in a variety of ways.
The amount of compensation a victim may obtain is limited in several states. However, in Colorado, there are no payment limits on personal injury lawsuits involving autos.
How do insurance companies figure out how much pain and suffering a person has endured? For calculating the worth of pain and suffering, various insurance companies have varied methods and criteria. They often take into account the following factors:
The age and lifestyle of the victim What occurred in the accident The credibility of the evidence
The degree of the damage and the kind of injury How long did it take you to get back on your feet?
To be more precise, in an car accident insurance claim, there are three basic ways for assessing pain and suffering:
METHOD OF MULTIPLICATION
The multiplier technique sums up all of your monetary losses resulting from the accident and then multiplies the amount by a certain rate. This rate is usually between 1 and 5.
These multipliers allow for a broad range of pain and suffering settlements. The multiplier number will be bigger the more serious your injuries are and the longer it takes to recuperate. (If you are permanently disabled due to the car accident, the multiplier is likely to be 5.)
The new value indicates your payout’s pain and suffering component after multiplication.
For example, if you have $35,000 in economic losses and a multiplier of 2 is used, you might be entitled to $70,000 in pain and suffering compensation.
$35,000 multiplied by two equals $70,000.
METHOD OF CALCULATING DAILY RATES
You and your lawyer must first establish your daily cost of living or daily earnings before using the daily rate approach, often known as the “per diem” method. After you’ve calculated this sum, double it by the number of days your life has been disrupted by accident.
Here’s an illustration: You were involved in an car accident and sustained injuries. Your full-time work is paid $15 an hour (40 hours a week.) That implies you were previously paid $120 each day. You might get $10,800 for your pain and suffering if it takes 90 days to settle your claim and finish all of your physical treatment.
$120 divided by 90 is $10,800
The daily rate approach is the most common way to quantify pain and suffering in Colorado. Some judges may choose to measure pain and suffering in months rather than days.
Please keep in mind that your daily rate may drop as time passes. This is why it’s critical to act quickly and file your claim!
METHODOLOGY OF JURISPRUDENCE
It’s all about comparison in the jurisprudential process. When a lawyer, judge, or jury uses the jurisprudential technique, they seek precedents or comparable instances from the past. These earlier instances are then utilized to determine the worth of your present accident case.
Consider someone in an car accident in Colorado in 2017 and had injuries that were quite comparable to yours. If that victim filed a claim and was awarded $60,000 in pain and suffering damages, your lawyer would argue that you are entitled to the same amount, plus inflation.
A car accident lawyer in Colorado can assist you in determining which approach will be used in your case. You may get an enormously greater settlement sum with the help of a lawyer than you would without one!
HOW CAN I PROVE MY SUFFERING AND PAIN?
You may be asking how to verify pain and suffering now that you know how to compute it.
We all know that determining culpability requires a detailed investigation into how your car accident occurred, but what about determining pain and suffering?
You’re the only one who knows how much emotional anguish you’re going through.
Sadly, the insurance company will try to diminish, discredit, and deny your sentiments at every turn. Don’t put up with it!
EVIDENCE OF SUFFERING AND PAIN
How can you prove damages for pain and suffering? Keep in mind that everything must be backed up by proof. A lawyer may assist you in keeping track of everything, gathering vital information, and presenting compelling proof, such as:
accident photographs
photographs of your wounds, scars, and injuries x-rays, medical records, and bills
doctor’s notes or testimony
testimonies from relatives and friends as witnesses the accident’s police report and/or 911 audio
Additionally, the plaintiff’s (that’s you!) testimony may be useful. Keeping a record of your feelings might be beneficial. Keep track of your pain levels and how the injury has affected your day-to-day life.
Be careful what you say.
After a car accident, your physicians and physical therapists will inquire about your pain levels at each follow-up appointment. Your car accident lawyer may also be able to arrange for short-term treatment sessions with mental health specialists.
Be truthful to all of them. Your responses should be based on your regular level of activity. Your pain levels may be minimal if you’ve been sitting on the sofa for days, but you should
think about how you’ll feel when you have to return to work or resume your normal active lifestyle.
HERE’S ANOTHER WAY TO MAXIMIZE YOUR PAIN AND SUFFERING DAMAGES
Never give an insurance company a recorded statement, and never go to court without a lawyer.
Insurance adjusters will contact you after an accident and attempt to get you to provide a recorded statement. They will try to twist your statements against you to lower the amount of your settlement. If they ask, “How are you?” and you say, “fine, thanks,” they could claim that you don’t deserve compensation for your pain and suffering since you’re “fine,” right?
Allowing this to happen to you is not a good idea. There is no legal need for you to provide a recorded statement concerning your car accident or injuries. Allow an experienced Colorado car accident attorney to handle all conversations and negotiations while concentrating on your recovery.
IN A CAR ACCIDENT, WHO PAYS FOR PAIN AND SUFFERING?
A typical car accident insurance payout includes the following damages: anguish and suffering
medical expenses
continuous medical or physical therapy treatments
the price of repairing or replacing any destroyed property lost income and earning potential
Several parties might be held liable for your car accident, ranging from drivers to shipping firms to property owners.
On the other hand, the insurance company is usually the one who pays you.
If your losses surpass the maximum of their car insurance coverage and you need to file a lawsuit against the at-fault motorist, you may go after their assets, such as their savings or homes.
In Colorado, there is a lot of pain and suffering. Cases of Wrongful Death Over a hundred people are killed in car accidents in Colorado every year.
WHAT HAPPENS TO THE PEOPLE WHO PASS AWAY?
Although we think that human life is sacred, we also feel that a wrongful death claim may assist survivors in alleviating some of the financial obligations they may face.
In Colorado, the following relatives are eligible to pursue a wrongful death claim: the spouse and children of the deceased
If the deceased’s spouse or children have died, the deceased’s parents may make a claim.
If the dead’s parents are deceased, the deceased’s siblings may submit a claim.
If the deceased’s siblings have died, the deceased’s grandparents may submit a claim.
This directive applies to relatives linked by blood or through legal adoption. In these situations, pain and suffering settlements may be in the hundreds of thousands of dollars.
ARE PASSENGERS ENTITLED TO COMPENSATION FOR PAIN AND SUFFERING?
Passengers are entitled to pain and suffering damages in the event of an car accident. Our Colorado personal injury attorneys get significant car accident injury compensation sums for drivers and passengers every day. Allow yourself to be the beneficiary of our next triumph!
HOW MUCH TIME DO I HAVE TO FILE A PAIN AND SUFFERING CLAIM?
In most cases, you must complete all prescribed medical procedures before your claim may be settled. This is because you and your attorney won’t know the entire extent of the accident’s effect on your health, mind, and everyday life until you consult with a doctor or therapist.
However, all personal injury lawsuits are subject to a time restriction known as the “statute of limitations.”
For car accidents in LA, the statute of limitations is one year from the date of the accident.
Contact a Colorado car accident lawyer right once and let them begin constructing your case for the best outcomes.
HOW MUCH DOES A CAR ACCIDENT LAWYER IN COLORADO COST?
The majority of personal injury attorneys operate on a contingency basis. This implies you don’t have to pay anything in advance. They are only compensated if they assist you in winning your case and settling your claim. You won’t have to pay out of pocket even then. Instead, your lawyer will remove a percentage of your settlement before you get your disbursement check.
NOW IS THE TIME TO CONTACT A PERSONAL INJURY ATTORNEY IN COLORADO
So, what is reasonable compensation for pain and suffering? The only people who will know the answer are you and your lawyer. Settlements for pain and suffering might assist accident victims in rebuilding their lives. While there is no assurance about car accident compensation amounts, pain, suffering, and other forms of emotional distress should always be included.
Your anguish is justified, and you are entitled to compensation for the injury inflicted by an irresponsible motorist. You may try to calculate pain and suffering claims using the information provided.
Team up with an attorney who understands how to fight for you to learn more about how to claim pain and suffering following a car accident.
A good negotiator may make all the difference when insurance companies simply want to take advantage of you when you’re at your most vulnerable. The final offer is more than twice as much as the first one in many situations!
We won’t give up, and you shouldn’t either.
We’re here to assist you if you need further assistance—Call 719-300-1100 for a free consultation. We are accessible 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and our client-centered approach ensures that you will be handled with the patience, respect, and compassion you deserve.
