Pain & Suffering Damages: What Is A Reasonable Settlement?

Written by Jeremy D. Earle, JD

January 31, 2023

Best attorney for Pain and Suffering from a Car Accident

People who have undergone pain and suffering at fault may be eligible to seek a personal injury claim. Depending on your situation, a competent personal injury lawyer can help you secure fair compensation for pain and suffering.

WHAT IS A REASONABLE SETTLEMENT FOR PAIN AND SUFFERING?

People who have been wounded due to another person’s carelessness or company may be entitled to seek compensation for physical, emotional, and other financial damages.

Injury victims who have been damaged in a car accident, for instance, may be entitled to seek reimbursement from the at-fault party’s insurance company. This needs evidence that the other motorist may be held accountable and may be done by filing a third-party claim.

A wounded individual could seek personal injury compensation to assist pay ambulance charges, medical bills, and money for lost income due to being unable to work. Yet car accident victims and anyone who suffer personal injure may seek compensation for different ways their life may have been damaged by accident.

If you or a family member have been wounded due to another person, corporation, or agency’s negligence, you may be eligible to seek compensation for pain and suffering expenses.

Understanding pain and suffering expenses and how they’re calculated will give you a decent sense of a possible financial amount you might anticipate obtaining from a personal injury settlement.

WHAT COUNTS AS PAIN AND SUFFERING?

Discomfort and suffering refer to the physical pain and psychological and/or emotional misery a person may endure owing to personal damage. This may relate to literal pain from the damage and other types of anguish, such as psychological trauma, worry, and humiliation.

Unlike costs that you can give a numerical value, such as medical bills or lost income, costs associated with mental health are more abstract. Calculating a settlement monetary estimate for pain and suffering expenses might be more complicated.

Compensation for pain and suffering is commonly sought in circumstances when a person has undergone considerable discomfort due to an accident.

Types of personal injury cases that may award compensation for pain and suffering include:\s· car accident\s· motorcycle accident\s· bicycle accident\s· boating accident\s· slip-and-fall\s· medical malpractice\s· workplace injury\s· assault and battery\s· animal bite\s· dangerous drugs

SETTLEMENT FOR PAIN AND SUFFERING ON THE AVERAGE

Our injury attorneys are often asked about the typical cash worth of pain and suffering charges in personal injury claims by their clients. The reality is that the average value might fluctuate based on the specific conditions of a certain situation.

A fair settlement figure requires a thorough assessment of the sort of accident you’ve suffered, your losses, and any other variables that may have contributed to your injuries. You may also be eligible for more compensation if you live in the United States, although the amount of compensation you get may be limited.

Some jurisdictions have regulations that limit the amount of money that plaintiffs may recover for non-economic damages, such as pain and suffering, that they can receive. These damages are computed differently from physical injuries, such as whiplash or other back injuries, for example. Damages are a legal word that refers to financial losses that result from injure.

A few examples of economic damages, also known as general damages, are ambulance charges, medical bills, physical rehabilitation counseling costs, medical equipment, home accommodations (for permanent injury/disability), lost pay, job loss, motor car repair costs, and other property damage.

In addition to mental anguish and loss of consortium/companionship, special damages might include the following: disability, deformity, loss of vision or hearing, and the inability to enjoy one’s life to its fullest extent.

HOW ARE THE COSTS OF PAIN AND SUFFERING CALCULATED?

The amount of compensation you may obtain for mental anguish and suffering caused by an accident will be determined by several variables.

These considerations may include:

What happened in the accident, what happened to you, what happened to your injuries, what happened to your state laws, what happened to your relationships, and so on. What happened in the accident, what happened to you, your injuries, and what happened to your relationships.

First and foremost, you may be required to make an insurance claim to cover general losses incurred. You may be eligible to launch a case for pain and suffering compensation following this.

In most cases, insurance adjusters and your attorney will utilize one of two methodologies to determine your estimated physical pain as well as your estimated mental or emotional suffering.

The multiplier technique and the ‘per Diem approach’ are the two basic ways of determining an individual’s expenses of pain and suffering.

METHOD OF MULTIPLIERS

To calculate pain and suffering, the multiplier approach must be used in two parts. The first stage is to determine the overall amount of economic losses sustained by the plaintiff.

The second step is to increase that value by a quantity appropriate for the particular circumstances of the situation in question. These are usually between one and five numbers that are assigned based on the severity of the damage.

Someone who has a fractured rib due to a car accident would be an excellent illustration of this. If their overall economic damages for that fractured rib amount to

$5,000, that figure may then be multiplied by one, two, three, or more to match their agony and suffering costs, as well as their medical expenses. After then, the sum is added back to the original $5,000.

Example:

Economic damages: $5,000 • Special (pain and suffering) damages: $10,000 ($5,000 multiplied by two).

Amount: $15,000 in total

Milder injuries, such as a bruised rib, will result in lesser economic losses multiplied by a smaller number. Significant injuries, such as traumatic brain damage, will almost always result in a cost many times more than the average.

METHOD OF PAYMENT ON A PER DIEM BASIS

This quantifying pain and suffering are less popular than the multiplier approach, which is used more often. The per diem technique assesses pain and suffering expenses based on the daily toll incurred by the plaintiff as a result of his or her pain and suffering.

Plaintiffs are given a certain amount of money for each day that elapses between the date of the accident and the day on which they are projected to get their maximum reimbursement under this approach.

Insurance firms and legal experts, on the other hand, are under no duty to apply any of these methodologies for determining pain and suffering compensation.

CONSULT WITH A SPECIALIST

Providing Evidence of Pain and Suffering

Having a basic understanding of how pain and suffering damages are assessed will not be sufficient to guarantee that you obtain an equitable compensation offer.

One of the difficulties in obtaining compensation for pain and suffering is obtaining evidence. This is something that an expert personal injury attorney can assist you with. Their assistance may be invaluable in assembling the documentation necessary to substantiate your losses and prevent an insurance company from refusing your claim.

Your attorney may ask for certain types of paperwork to assist in substantiating your case. Photographs of the accident scene and personal messages demonstrating your anguish exemplify what you may provide.

Personal journals or blogs, for example, are examples of this.

In addition to the plaintiff’s relatives and friends, other persons close to the plaintiff may submit stories of how the injury has impacted the plaintiff’s life, including their mood, employment, and interpersonal connections.

OBTAINING THE HIGHEST AMOUNT OF COMPENSATION FOR PAIN AND SUFFERING

It may be difficult to determine whether or not you are receiving a fair settlement offer without the assistance of an expert attorney.

A personal injury attorney may examine the specifics of your injury claim and offer you an estimate of the worth of your case based on the information you supply. They can also fight to have any offer they believe is too low renegotiated.

At the legal company of Warrior Car Accident Attorneys, our experienced team of personal injury lawyers can assist you in calculating your pain and suffering expenses as well as gathering evidence to establish your losses.

In addition, we can speak with the defendant’s insurance company on your behalf and fight to ensure that you get a fair amount of compensation for your injuries.

ANSWERS TO FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS ABOUT PERSONAL INJURY SETTLEMENTS

WHAT IS THE DEFINITION OF A SETTLEMENT?

A settlement is an agreement reached between two parties in a claim or litigation to address their disputes. Generally speaking, most civil settlements include the payment of money to the plaintiff in return for the dismissal of the plaintiff’s claims against the defendant. On the other hand, settlements might include a variety of non-monetary terms.

WHEN IS IT POSSIBLE TO SETTLE?

A settlement may be reached at any time, beginning with the moment the defendant becomes aware of the lawsuit and continuing through the trial and even the appeals process.

If there are several defendants in my case, may I settle with one defendant while proceeding with litigation or trial against the other(s) simultaneously?

Yes. A partial settlement is what this is known as. A plaintiff is permitted to reach a settlement with one defendant and have the action against that defendant dismissed while continuing the case against the other defendants.

It is sometimes in the plaintiff’s best interests to use this strategy, and it is sometimes not. On an individual case-by-case basis, this decision must be made.

DO THE MAJORITY OF CASES RESULT IN A SETTLEMENT?

Yes. According to statistics, around 90 to 95 percent of civil lawsuits are resolved before going to trial at some time.

WHO HAS THE POWER TO DECIDE IN MY SITUATION?

A plaintiff’s lawsuit is always settled by the plaintiff himself or herself, and no one else has the right to resolve it. An attorney cannot settle a matter on behalf of a plaintiff unless the plaintiff gives the attorney permission to do so. In the case of a juvenile, a guardian is appointed who, in conjunction with an attorney, makes a recommendation to the court for a settlement. On the other hand, the settlement must be approved by a court.

WHO IS RESPONSIBLE FOR DETERMINING THE AMOUNT OF THE SETTLEMENT? 

In the end, the parties individually decide the settlement amount with the assistance of lawyers. When the claim is covered by insurance, the insurance company decides the amount it is willing to pay, sometimes with the assistance of an attorney and sometimes without it, depending on the circumstances.

In situations that are more difficult to resolve, the parties often seek the assistance of a mediator or a settlement conference judge to assist them in settling; nevertheless, a mediator or a settlement conference judge does not have the authority to compel a party to settle the matter.

HOW DOES THE AMOUNT OF THE SETTLEMENT BE CALCULATED?

It is possible to have hundreds of variables influence the settlement amount in a particular case. Some of the most significant considerations are as follows:

In the first instance, a prediction of what the jury will do if the case gets to trial determines the case’s worth. This is typically found by studying jury judgments from comparable instances in the past.

  1. The quantity of insurance coverage or financial assets accessible to you. Generally, if the lawsuit is worth more than the available policy limits and the defendant does not have any assets with which to contribute to the settlement, the case will be settled at the policy limit (unless the case involves an car accident and the plaintiff can proceed against his or her own insurance company in an uninsured motorist case).

To avoid the emotional and financial costs of litigation, the plaintiff may be prepared to settle his or her claim for less than its worth, or the defendant and/or insurance carrier may be ready to pay more than the case’s value to avoid the costs of litigation.

What can I do to ensure that my compensation is paid? What percentage of my settlement money will be distributed to me?

In most personal injury, harassment, abuse, and malpractice cases, the plaintiff’s lawyer accept the case on a contingency fee basis, meaning that if the plaintiff loses, the lawyer receives no fee but instead receives a fee of approximately 33.33 percent or 40 percent of the settlement amount when the case is over.

In addition, in most situations, the plaintiff’s attorney advances the expenses of the lawsuit and is compensated from the settlement profits for the costs that were advanced in addition to his or her fee. In the end, if there are any “liens,” which are requests for reimbursement by medical care providers or insurance companies who have paid for the plaintiff’s treatment, the lien claimants will receive all or part of their unpaid fees, or in the case of insurance companies or MediCal or Medicare money paid to healthcare providers out of the plaintiff’s settlement, the lien claimants will receive all or part of their unpaid fees.

The amount of money left over after attorney’s fees have been repaid, as well as any liens, if any, will be referred to as the plaintiff’s net settlement amount.

HOW AND WHERE DO SETTLEMENTS COME TO BE ESTABLISHED?

In various methods and many different locations, settlements may take root. Cases are sometimes settled through the exchange of letters; other times, they are settled through the exchange of letters and phone calls between the plaintiff’s attorney and the defense attorney/insurance adjuster; and other times, they are settled through a more formal settlement proceeding such as mediation or a court-ordered settlement conference, among others.

However, some cases do indeed come to a close on the courthouse steps (or at the very least in the halls) immediately before or during a trial.

Are settlements usually paid in a single lump amount of money, or may they be paid in installments over some time?

The majority of settlements call for the payment of the whole settlement money in one lump amount within a few weeks of the date of the settlement agreement being reached.

However, the parties may agree on a “structured settlement,” in which money is paid out in installments over time, provided there is enough money at stake and the plaintiff so desires. Structured settlements are available in an endless number of variations. Some structured settlements provide the plaintiff with monthly payments for the rest of his or her life; others provide the plaintiff with greater payouts over a longer or shorter period. In a structured settlement, the insurance company obtains annuity coverage on the plaintiff’s behalf, ensuring that the plaintiff will receive future payments.

They are particularly useful in cases involving minors because they allow the parents to control the minor’s use of the money after they reach the age of majority. They are also useful in cases involving people who are not used to dealing with large sums of money because they provide a safe investment tool with guaranteed payouts, which is particularly useful in cases involving minors.

The majority of legal concerns need lengthy responses. The answers offered here may not be comprehensive or completely correct, but they make an effort to provide customers with concise responses… Further information on these topics may be found in other pages in this area of this website, other legal publications, and books on the subject, or by consulting with an attorney. 

LAWYERS, WE HAVE BEEN AWARDED ON A NATIONAL LEVEL.

Contact Our Injury Attorneys Right Away

If you or a loved one has been hurt due to someone else’s carelessness, our attorneys can assist you in seeking reasonable compensation via the filing of a personal injury claim.

We have recovered more than $1 billion for our clients around the country and have the expertise to assist you in obtaining the compensation you may be entitled to.

Call the Warrior Car Accident Lawyers immediately to set up a free appointment with one of our award-winning personal injury attorneys to discuss your case in further detail.

Warrior Car Accident Lawyers

1902 W. Colorado Ave., Suite 100

Colorado Springs, CO 80904

719-300-1100

Free Consultation

NO FEE UNLESS WE WIN

You May Also Like…