We live in a society governed by rules, where responsibility and accountability for our actions towards others are among the most important ones. If someone intentionally or negligently causes you harm, you deserve compensation.
Understandably, you may assume that the at-fault party should only cover your medical expenses, lost wages, and other tangible losses. However, this is only a partial view. Personal injury attorney Rich Godshall of Ostroff Godshall Injury and Accident Lawyers can help you get the dues that you deserve.
The law allows for compensation for intangible losses, such as pain and suffering, in addition to economic damages following an accident. Herein, the questions arise: How much money should you claim? More importantly, how are these losses calculated? Is there a cap on the settlement?
Find the answer to these and many more questions in our comprehensive blog.
What Is Pain and Suffering?
Personal injury law in Pennsylvania recognizes pain and suffering as a compensable element of damages following an accident. Pain and suffering encompass the physical and emotional distress caused by the injury. Unlike economic damages, such as medical expenses or lost wages, pain and suffering are intangible and subjective, making them difficult to quantify in monetary terms. This presents a challenge in determining the appropriate compensation for pain and suffering in personal injury cases.
As such, you should enlist the services of a knowledgeable personal injury attorney. Having gone to law school and handled similar cases before, they will investigate your case to help determine how much non-monetary damages the liable party owes you.
Factors Influencing Pain and Suffering Calculations
The severity of your injuries, treatment duration, and recovery process all affect how pain and suffering are calculated. These factors, along with emotional distress, play a significant role in your compensation.
How Insurance Companies Handle Pain and Suffering
Insurance companies often aim to minimize payouts for pain and suffering claims. Understanding their tactics and working with a skilled lawyer can help ensure you receive fair compensation for these losses.
Emotional Distress and Psychological Impacts in Claims
Beyond physical pain, emotional distress and psychological effects such as anxiety or depression can be factored into pain and suffering damages. These impacts may require professional documentation to strengthen your claim.
Calculating Pain and Suffering
Courts rely on several approaches to determine noneconomic personal injury losses. A few of them are explained below:
The Multiplier Method
Under this technique, your noneconomic losses are multiplied by your monetary damages. The multiplication factor will depend on several factors, including the extent of your injuries.
Say, for instance, your monetary reparation totaled $100,000. In that case, the jury may multiply this by a factor of three, resulting in $300,000.
The Per Diem Method
The per diem technique takes a slightly different approach. Specifically, your total noneconomic damages depend on how many days you endured pain and suffering.
For example, the jury may contend that you suffered $100 worth of pain every day, and it took you a total of 200 days to recover. In this scenario, your total losses would culminate in $20,000.
As you can see, multiple ways to determine pain and suffering damages exist. Remember, no two personal injury cases are the same. Your claim’s nuances will determine how much compensation you are owed and how the jury will calculate it.
Evidence can make or break your claim. You must prove your pain and suffering losses by a preponderance of evidence. To do this, be sure to keep your medical documentation. This includes medical receipts, doctor’s appointment notes, prescriptions, and related files. Witnesses can also demonstrate how the injuries affect you.
Conclusion
Personal injury compensation has two overarching goals—to restore a sense of semblance and to punish individuals who engage in wilful misconduct or reckless behavior.
You have every right to seek restitution for noneconomic damages. And because they can be more complex to ascertain, it is wise to work with a personal injury attorney. They will accurately calculate what you are owed, ensuring you get no less.
Source: Ostroff Godshall Injury and Accident Lawyers
