A “fair settlement for pain and suffering” has a shifting definition depending on the case. Bakersfield Personal injury attorneys evaluate their client’s pain and suffering individually, so it’s impossible to say what a fair settlement is without having more information.
Consider someone who is seriously injured in a head-on collision involving a large truck. They might face post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and extensive scarring and deserve a large settlement due in part to their severe pain and suffering. Someone who is in a low-speed, rear-end collision may also have pain and suffering, but they may not deserve quite as much compensation as the victim in the head-on accident.
Types of Pain and Suffering That Lawyers Consider When Pursuing a Settlement
While attorneys are familiar with the phrase “pain and suffering,” the average person might not know what this term refers to.
Pain and suffering is a category of damages that are non-economic in nature, which means they don’t have an obvious financial value. This does not mean that pain and suffering has no financial value—it just means that value is more difficult to identify than, say, the cost of medical treatment.
Some examples of pain and suffering that personal injury lawyers often include in their settlement valuations are:
- PTSD: Post-traumatic stress disorder is a mental health condition that generally results from someone enduring an intense or terrifying event. PTSD symptoms can include intrusive memories, negative thought patterns, avoidant behavior, acute anxiety, and other serious symptoms.
- Anxiety: While anxiety can be categorized as an emotion, it can also be a diagnosable condition. Those with anxiety may ruminate about the future, fear certain situations, feel generally uncomfortable, and suffer a diminished quality of life as a consequence of their condition.
- Depression: Depression is a mood disorder that can vary in severity and symptoms. Significant depression can change virtually everything about a person’s way of being and quality of life, from how they think and act to how they view the world. Depression may occur in those who suffer injuries or go through traumatic events, which are common themes in personal injury cases.
- Sleep loss: Physical pain, intrusive thoughts, and other issues can cause sleep loss. In many personal injury cases, the lost sleep is tied directly to someone’s negligent behavior—like a drunk motorist who caused an accident and injured the person who is now struggling to sleep regularly. Both physical and mental health suffer when someone does not get sufficient sleep, so this is a notable form of pain and suffering.
- Lost quality of life: The term “lost quality of life” may seem vague, but it’s a reality that personal injury lawyers can factor into their calculation of pain and suffering. Someone may not technically have depression or anxiety, but their quality of life may suffer due to being injured. This is why many personal injury plaintiffs seek compensation for lost (or diminished) quality of life.
- Scarring and disfigurement: When someone’s appearance is affected by another person’s negligence, they can demand compensation for the appearance changes. Scarring and other types of disfigurement can significantly affect one’s self-image, confidence, and quality of life—it’s only fair that they hold at-fault parties accountable for these unwanted challenges.
Personal injury attorneys may also seek compensation for emotional anguish, psychological distress, and certain other challenges that qualify as pain and suffering.
How Your Attorney May Calculate the Value of Your Pain and Suffering
The reason why pain and suffering is considered “non-economic damage” is because they’re related to problems that do not have a purely financial aspect. While the cost of a medical bill is lost money, suffering anxiety or lost quality of life is different than just losing money.
Despite pain and suffering not having a clear financial value, attorneys must determine its value. After all, money is how those with pain and suffering are repaid for their hardship. Your attorney may use one of two accepted methods to calculate the financial value of your pain and suffering:
- The multiplier method: With the multiplier method, a lawyer first determines the cost of the client’s economic damages, which may include medical costs, lost income, and other damages with an objective financial cost. The attorney will then multiply the total cost of the economic damages by a certain amount (1.5 is a fairly common multiplier) to determine the value of the pain and suffering.
- The per-diem method: When using the per-diem method, the attorney assigns a daily value to the client’s pain and suffering. The attorney then determines the period for which the client will endure the pain and suffering, and they will total the daily values to reach a final figure.
Your attorney may use the method they generally use, or they may use the method they believe is most appropriate for your unique circumstances. Whether they use the per-diem or multiplier method, your attorney will assign an accurate financial value to your pain and suffering.
How an Attorney May Prove Your Pain and Suffering
If your lawyer wants to secure compensation for any type of damage, they will have to prove that damage. Insurance companies and defendants in lawsuits do not want to pay, and presenting clear evidence of your pain and suffering may be necessary to convince them to settle fairly.
Some ways that your attorney may prove and detail your pain and suffering are:
- Your statements: Those who have to endure pain and suffering are qualified to describe that pain and suffering. Your attorney may use your account of physical pain, emotional anguish, psychological distress, and other forms of pain and suffering.
- Your written records: Your attorney may encourage you to keep a journal detailing your pain and suffering. Such a written record can help establish a timeline and serve as further proof of how the at-fault party has diminished your quality of life.
- One or more evaluations by a licensed mental health professional: Experts can deliver serious value to a personal injury case. A mental health professional may diagnose any anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression, personality disorders, and other types of diagnosable pain and suffering.
- Medical records: Pain and suffering can intersect with your physical health. For example, someone may have to seek emergency care if they experience a panic attack. If any medical records help prove your pain and suffering, your lawyer will use those records in your case.
- Photographs: Photographs can show scarring and other forms of disfigurement that entitle you to compensation.
Attorneys have experience and are creative in proving their clients’ damages. Trust your lawyer to acquire comprehensive, detailed proof of your pain and suffering—and every other damage you deserve compensation for.
Incidents That Can Cause Pain and Suffering (and Prompt Insurance Claims and Lawsuits)
You generally hear the term pain and suffering when you are pursuing an insurance claim or lawsuit. Some of the circumstances that can cause pain and suffering and may also lead to an insurance claim or lawsuit include:
- Car accidents
- Pedestrian accidents
- Truck accidents
- Motorcycle accidents
- Rideshare accidents
- Boat accidents
- Medical malpractice
- Slip and fall accidents
- Trip and fall accidents
- Assaults allowed by negligent security, poor lighting, or other dangerous conditions on the premises
- Animal attacks
- Accidents resulting from defective products
- Wrongful deaths
This is not the entire list of incidents and case types that can lead to a financial recovery for pain and suffering. If you have suffered an injury, become sick, or lost a loved one, then you have almost certainly experienced pain and suffering.
Don’t wait to speak with a personal injury lawyer if you’ve suffered harm due to someone else’s negligence or merely suspect as much. Law firms will review your case at no cost. If you have a case, the law firm you choose will handle every step of that case for you.
Pain and Suffering Often Accompanies Other Damages (Such as These)
When someone experiences pain and suffering, there is a considerable chance that they’ve suffered other damages, too. Whether a personal injury lawyer is handling a car accident case, medical malpractice case, or other case type, they’ll account for all damages, including:
Medical Bills
Claimants and plaintiffs often experience pain and suffering, at least in part, because they suffered an injury. This means that attorneys who seek compensation for pain and suffering are often also seeking compensation for the client’s medical bills.
Professional Damages (Often Highlighted by Lost Income)
Some types of professional damages often featured in personal injury cases include:
- Lost income (which can affect those who earn their income by the hour, project, or salary)
- Diminished earning capacity, which can happen when the injured or sick party has to alter their hours, change jobs, or make other professional changes that lead to less income
- Lost chances for promotions, new jobs, bonuses, and other work-related incentives
- Lost benefits
Attorneys become familiar with the important details of their client’s lives, and the details of their careers can be critically important to their case value.
Property Expenses
There are many case types, including car accident cases, that involve significant property-related expenses. Repairing or replacing a vehicle can cost many thousands of dollars, and this is just one example of a property expense that may accompany pain and suffering.
Damages Related to a Disability
When someone suffers a disabling injury or illness, they undoubtedly endure significant pain and suffering. Such a difficult circumstance may also:
- Prevent the disabled individual from working ever again (or significantly diminish their earning power)
- Require the disabled party to purchase a wheelchair and other medical equipment
- Require updates to the disabled person’s residence (or require them to move to a more handicap-friendly residence)
In many cases, loved ones have to change their lives in significant ways to care for someone with a disability. Attorneys consider the entire picture of harm and disruption when valuing a case involving a disabling health condition.
A Wrongful Death
Wrongful death is the most costly and tragic outcome of any harmful circumstance. Unsurprisingly, survivors affected by a wrongful death tend to experience substantial pain and suffering, including grief.
Any attorney you hire to lead a wrongful death case will account for both the economic and non-economic harm you’ve suffered due to your loved one’s passing.
How a Personal Injury Attorney Will Seek Fair Compensation for Pain and Suffering (and Other Damages)
Each attorney has their process, preferred strategic approaches, and styles. When you’re looking for a lawyer, feel free to ask the law firm’s representatives how the firm’s attorneys generally handle cases like yours.
Expect your lawyer to handle every detail of your case. Some of the most important duties a lawyer manages in a personal injury case include:
- Acquiring relevant evidence right away: Attorneys often use witness statements, photographs, video, and other evidence to prove who is at fault for their client’s damages. Attorneys obtain such evidence as soon as possible, knowing that evidence does not last forever.
- Documenting the client’s damages: Medical records and bills, your account of pain and suffering, financial statements showing lost income, and other documentation can prove the nature of your damages.
- Fighting for a fair financial recovery: Obtaining fair compensation is a lawyer’s mission critical. Your attorney will seek a settlement or jury-awarded verdict on your behalf, with their case strategy dictating how they seek compensation for you.
Your attorney will also protect you from all threats. Often, this means shielding clients from insurance companies’ bad-faith tactics.
Can I Afford to Hire a Lawyer to Seek Money for My Pain and Suffering?
Yes, you can afford an attorney to seek compensation for your pain and suffering and other damages. Personal injury lawyers typically offer a contingency fee agreement, which means the lawyer receives a percentage of any compensation they obtain for the client. You won’t pay your lawyer out of your pocket.
Hire a Personal Injury Attorney For Your Pain and Suffering Claim
Don’t wait to find a personal injury lawyer you’re comfortable with and confident in. Your case may have multiple deadlines, so hire your attorney as soon as possible.