How Are Pain and Suffering Calculated After an Injury?

 Posted on July 08, 2024 in Car Accidents

When most people hear the words "personal injury," they think of medical bills, lost wages from being off work, and other losses. These are called economic damages, and they are the most common type of damages that personal injury victims seek compensation for.

Some damages, however, are not physical. Someone who has been in a truck crash, for example — which is often more traumatic than car accidents due to the weight and size of trucks — can suffer psychological and emotional shock. Texas law refers to the psychological impact as pain and suffering. Even though pain and suffering are considered non-economic damages, a victim can still receive compensation for them.

But how are pain and suffering calculated? This article will discuss the methods used to determine the value of pain and suffering. If you have been injured in a truck accident or any other incident, contact a Texas personal injury attorney to find out if you may be eligible to claim compensation for pain and suffering.

What Is Pain and Suffering?

Pain and suffering may include physical pain, but it also refers to conditions such as:

• Mental anguish, such as loneliness, fear, grief, loss of a loved one, and more

• Psychological pain, including psychosomatic pain, phantom pain from amputated limbs, and other pain that is not related to a clear physical condition

Signs of pain and suffering include:

• Anxiety

• Lack of sleep

• Lethargy

• Fatigue

• Mood swings

• Angry outbursts

• Unusual behavior

• New phobias

• Depression

• Fear

• Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)

How Is Pain and Suffering Calculated?

Pain and suffering need to be quantified In order to get compensation for them. To do this, courts and insurance companies use what is called the multiplier method. This involves adding up all your economic damages — such as your medical expenses and lost wages — and then multiplying that number by a number between 1.5 and five. That number is called the multiplier rate.

For example, if your economic damages add up to $20,000 and a judge or jury decides to use a multiplier of two, your damages would equal $40,000. 

Insurance companies sometimes use the per diem method, which estimates a day’s worth of damages — such as how much wages you lose per day — and then multiplies that amount by the number of days you suffer the injury.

How Is the Multiplier Rate Determined?

We explained that a multiplier rate between 1.5 and five is used in the multiplier method. But how is that number determined?

The multiplier rate is decided after looking at several factors, such as:

• The severity of the injury

• What impact the injury has had on the victim’s life

• Any pre-existing conditions

• Whether the injury is temporary or permanent

• The victim’s age

• Whether the victim was disfigured

• The level of disability

Contact a New Braunfels, TX Personal Injury Attorney

At The Bettersworth Law Firm, we want to make sure you get the compensation you deserve. Whether you are entitled to economic damages or non-economic damages like pain and suffering, our aggressive attorneys are ready to fight for every dollar. We have over 25 years of legal experience and have recovered millions of dollars for our clients. Call 830-606-0404 to schedule a free consultation with a Kennedy, TX personal injury lawyer today.