Some consequences of an accident are clear and straightforward – medical bills, lost wages during a recovery, and costs to replace or repair damage to a vehicle. For an insurance company or personal injury attorney, calculating these damages (known as economic damages or pecuniary damages) can be straightforward. They have a set value or a value that can be calculated.
However, not all consequences of an accident can be as clearly identified and valued. Pain and suffering refer to the emotional distress, physical discomfort, mental health issues, and other personal struggles you experience in the wake of a traumatic accident. Since these things are so subjective, they’re much more difficult to value.
That doesn’t mean they’re any less important. Often, pain and suffering (known as non-economic damages or non-pecuniary damages) make up the bulk of a personal injury settlement or award. It’s important to make sure pain and suffering damages are calculated properly.
In Texas, there are two primary methods for calculating pain and suffering: the multiplier method and the per-diem method.
What Is the Multiplier Method?
The multiplier method assigns a numerical value between one and five to your pain and suffering. The more catastrophic your injuries and the more adversity you face because of your accident, the higher the multiplier.
Then, the multiplier is applied to the value of your economic damages. The product is the value of your pain and suffering damages.
For example, let’s say you’ve suffered a traumatic brain injury in a truck accident. As a result, you’ve incurred $500,000 in economic damages. The brain injury significantly impairs your day-to-day life and is likely permanent in some capacity.
As a result, a multiplier of four is chosen to reflect your pain and suffering. Your economic damages are then multiplied by four for a product of $2 million. Your total compensatory damages equal $2.5 million ($500,000 in economic damages and $2 million in pain and suffering).
If your brain injury had a less significant impact on your quality of life, a multiplier of two might be applied. In this situation, your pain and suffering damages would equal $1 million, and your total recovery would be $1.5 million.
A skilled injury attorney in Austin will know how to argue for the highest possible multiplier based on the evidence of your trauma.
What Is the Per Diem Method?
The per diem method awards you a certain amount of money in pain and suffering damages for each day of a set period of time – often until you achieve Maximum Medical Improvement (MMI).
The payment period begins on the date you were injured. If it takes you 400 days to recover from a car accident, you’d be paid a set amount for pain and suffering damages for 250 days. If your rate was established at $250 a day, your pain and suffering damages would total $100,000. If your economic damages were worth $100,000, as well, your total recovery would equal $200,000.
Determining the appropriate daily rate is a task where an injury lawyer can provide essential guidance.
Dow Law Firm Can Help You Fight For the Pain and Suffering Damages You Deserve
After an accident, the insurance company will want to use software to calculate your pain and suffering. The problem is, pain and suffering are subjective. The emotional distress, anguish, and inconvenience affect everyone differently.
You deserve to be compensated for the stress and suffering you’re dealing with – and that requires a detailed and informed consideration of your specific situation. Our Austin personal injury attorneys won’t let the insurance company dictate your financial recovery.
We’ll work with experts to consider how your accident and injuries have affected your life and will likely continue to affect you for years to come. Our injury lawyers will use that information and our winning legal strategies to help you achieve the best possible case results – those that reflect the true extent of your suffering.
Contact our law office at (512) 240-9951 to schedule a free consultation with our Austin injury attorneys today.