Pain And Suffering Settlement Examples {year] – Forbes Advisor

No set standard exists for calculating how pain and suffering should be compensated. The subjectiveness of the process underscores the importance of documenting any and all information pertaining to your case.

Saving all evidence such as medical bills and other expenses associated with the injury is imperative. Documenting time spent addressing an injury and its side effects also is important. It can also be helpful to keep a journal documenting your emotional suffering. But many times, pain and suffering settlements are calculated using one of two formulas used by insurance companies.

Multiplier Method

The multiplier method totals all the plaintiff’s medical bills from the injury and multiplies that total by a number between 1.5 and 5. The multiplier is chosen depending on factors such as:

• The severity of the plaintiff’s injuries
• The prognosis
• The impact on day-to-day life
• Whether the plaintiff bears any fault for the accident

For example, if a person is involved in a car accident and suffers whiplash, a concussion, and a broken arm, their medical bills could total $5,000. Since the injuries are moderate, the insurance company might use a multiplier of 3 and offer a settlement of $15,000 for the pain and suffering component of the lawsuit. This is in addition to a separate amount covering the medical bills and lost work the plaintiff has as economic damages.

Per Diem Method

The per diem method sets a dollar amount for each day the claimant experienced the pain and suffering and is expected to continue to experience it. It can be hard to place a dollar value on the value of one day’s pain however.

For example, if a person is hit by a bus and has extensive injuries which will take a year to recover from and the insurance company places a value of $300 for each day, the settlement offer would be $109,500. They would be entitled to compensation for their economic injuries separately (the cost of medical care and lost wages).

Some states don’t allow per diem arguments for non-economic harm, including New Jersey, where the courts have concluded they have no basis in evidence.