If you or someone you love has been injured as a result of another person's negligent action, you may be entitled to several kinds of compensation such as payment for medical expenses and lost wages, in addition to pain and suffering damages.
Numerous victims of auto accidents are qualified to receive compensation for non-economic losses like pain and suffering. Although calculating these damages can be challenging, an Orange County personal injury lawyer may be able to help.
This brings up a significant issue: How much is pain and suffering in a car accident worth? The answer to this legal question is, "It depends," as with many others.
What Are Pain and Suffering Damages?
The phrase "pain and suffering" refers to a broad range of injuries that a victim may experience in the wake of an incident that adversely affects them. These are typically regarded as non-economic damages because calculating them correctly can be far more challenging and arbitrary than estimating compensation for medical expenses and lost wages. Under pain and suffering, the victim may experience physical pain from their injuries, emotional trauma brought on by the accident, anxiety, mental agony, loss of enjoyment of life, and other forms of distress following the accident.
Determining the Amount of Pain and Suffering
There are several ways to compute pain and suffering damages, but there is no definite formula set forth by the law. The following are the two most widely used techniques for estimating these damages:
Multiplier Formula
The multiplier formula is the first method used to calculate how much compensation you should receive for your pain and suffering. To calculate damages using this method, experts will:
- Establish your overall economic losses.
- Choose a multiplier to correspond to your suffering (usually between 1 and 5)
- Add the multiplier to your overall economic losses.
Let's say that an automobile accident cost you $5,000 in financial losses. You receive a threefold multiplier for your agony and pain. As a result, you receive $15,000 as compensation for your suffering.
Per diem Formula
The length of time it takes you to recover from an auto accident is the main consideration in this formula for assessing losses due to pain and suffering. In the per diem formula, a dollar amount is assigned to each day of your rehabilitation. This amount is then multiplied by the number of days it takes you to recover.
Assume you receive $200 every day for your rehabilitation. You need ten days to heal from your injuries. Consequently, you would receive $2,000 as compensation for your pain and suffering following an automobile accident.
How much pain and suffering will be awarded in a personal injury case can depend on a number of other factors. As certain localities are more plaintiff-friendly than others, this may include the location of the accident or the courtroom.
Importantly, we discover that, in general, more serious injuries and those that have a long-term effect on the plaintiff's life will result in bigger pain and suffering damages. For instance, an injury that keeps someone from working or taking part in regular family activities would typically result in a higher pain and suffering award than an injury from which the client recovers quickly.
Intangible damages don’t follow formulas and are frequently undervalued by insurance companies
You must learn how to deal with insurance adjusters if you were in a car accident. This is crucial in situations where the victim has endured significant pain and suffering or has sustained severe injuries. In order to be just, the sufferer must receive fair and full compensation for their losses.
Unfortunately, preserving their own profit line is the main priority for insurance firms. They have a reputation for estimating noneconomic damages too low.
A knowledgeable personal injury attorney is essential if you or a loved one sustained severe injury in an Orange County car accident. This attorney will make sure that your settlement offer adequately compensates you for your pain and suffering as well as all other economic and non-economic losses.
Contact an Orange County Personal Injury Lawyer Today
Our Orange County car accident lawyers at Barrios & Machado are tenacious, committed defenders of injured persons. We are dedicated to making sure that car accident victims receive the full and just compensation they are due.
If you or a loved one was injured in an Orange County car accident, call (714) 515-9696 for a free and private assessment of your case.
