Knowing how to calculate pain and suffering in a car accident case can help you understand what compensation to expect in your case.
If you are injured in a car accident in Pennsylvania, chances are that you will suffer not only financial damages, but also physical and emotional losses, such as pain and suffering, disfigurement, and loss of life’s pleasures. In many cases, economic losses represent only the tip of the iceberg, while non-economic losses represent the iceberg.
In Pennsylvania, economic losses may not be recoverable unless you have full tort. If you have limited tort, the non-economic losses cannot be collected except in cases of death or serious injury. There are cases where limited tort does not bar a non-economic claim such as where the other driver is not insured, drunk driving is involved, or the other vehicle is not a motor vehicle but rather a truck.
To determine how to calculate pain and suffering in a car accident settlement, you should start by consulting an experienced car crash attorney. Pennsylvania personal injury law is complicated. The compensation value you can pursue depends on the law as well as the facts of your case.
Attorney Clifford A. Rieders of Rieders, Travis, Dohrmann, Mowrey, Humphrey & Waters knows the courts, the insurance companies, the system, and what you need to do to increase your chances of winning a good settlement. Our attorneys have successfully represented people who have been harmed in vehicle crashes throughout Pennsylvania.
When you are injured in a car crash, contact the experienced personal injury lawyers at Rieders, Travis, Dohrmann, Mowrey, Humphrey & Waters today by calling (570) 323-8711 for a free consultation, or use our online contact form.
What Is Considered “Pain and Suffering”?
Pain and suffering is the diminishment in your happiness and quality of life that resulted from your injuries. It can include:
- Physical pain
- Disfigurement
- Emotional and mental trauma, such as fear, stress, insomnia, anxiety, grief, worry
- Inconvenience
- Loss of consortium (marital relations)
- Loss of enjoyment of life.
These losses are not directly and strictly tied to the cost of treatment. However, in Pennsylvania, the cost of treatment may not even be admissible to a jury under our Mcare Act.
How to Calculate Pain and Suffering in a Car Accident Cases
Pain and suffering losses are determined by the severity and duration of your injuries. Grievous injuries that cannot be cured, such as amputation or brain damage, will justify greater compensation than temporary injuries that heal. Pennsylvania has no cap on non-economic damages, except in cases involving lawsuits against government entities that do not involve civil rights claims. However, courts will review non-economic damages, where a case goes to verdict, to assure that they are not out of line with the injuries suffered.
The law does not impose a specific formula for calculating these losses. Instead, jurors are typically advised to use their sense of fairness to value pain and suffering.
Since insurers need predictability in their businesses, they typically use one of two formulas to calculate pain and suffering for settlement offers.
The multiplier method adds up all the easily calculable economic losses and multiplies those by a number, called a multiplier, between 1.5 and 5. The multiplier used will depend on such factors as the seriousness of injuries, whether the injuries will be permanent, and the impact of your injuries on your day-to-day life. The number resulting from multiplying the factor by the economic losses gives the total award.
Thus, suppose that you suffered permanent spinal cord damage. This could justify a large multiplier, such as a 5. Also, suppose that you had $100,000 in losses due to medical bills and lost income. The total compensation according to this formula would be $600,000, with $100,000 in economic losses and $500,000 in pain and suffering.
The other method — the per diem method — assigns a certain amount to every day you suffer, from the day of the accident until you reach maximum recovery. The daily rate used can vary, and a reasonable rate may often be your daily earnings.
Injury attorneys do not need to use the insurance company method. Our method presents a complete picture of the loss to the insurance carrier or the defendants. Our car accident attorneys also look at other results from around the state and the country.
Neither of these formulas are etched in stone, and they are not always strictly followed. There are many other ways of evaluating claims which sometimes make little or no sense to the victim.
Pain and Suffering Damages in a Car Accident Case
In Pennsylvania, a damage award for non-economic loss includes five items:
- Pain and suffering
- Embarrassment and humiliation
- Loss of enjoyment due to injuries that limit your activities
- Disfigurement due to the loss or scarring of a body part
- Emotional distress.
Your testimony about the impact of your injuries on your life explains the type of losses you suffered. We can also use testimony from relatives, co-workers, or other people who know how your injuries affected you. Finally, we may use testimony from your doctor about the long-term effects of your injuries.
Do Car Insurance Companies Have to Pay for Pain and Suffering?
Pennsylvania insurance law requires policies to offer coverage, at a minimum of $5,000, for hospital and medical expenses. If you bought full-tort or suffered what the law defines as a serious injury with limited-tort insurance, you can pursue pain and suffering damages from the other driver’s insurer. Of course, there can be a contest as to whether the injury was serious enough to permit an award of pain and suffering where you only have limited tort.
Specifically, limited-tort insurance limits your ability to seek pain and suffering losses except in cases where you suffered permanent disfigurement or serious impairment of bodily function. Examples of these injuries include:
- Permanent and significant scars
- Burns
- Loss of a limb
- Loss of the function of an organ
- Impairment of a body part, such as a limp or nerve damage.
Conversely, full-tort insurance always allows you to pursue pain and suffering damages, regardless of the injuries you suffered. However, full-tort insurance is more costly than limited-tort insurance. Therefore, some motorists do not buy a policy with full tort. There are other insurance options that make a tremendous difference. It is always important to not sign any waivers of underinsurance coverage. You are entitled to as much underinsurance as bodily injury protection. Some people sign waivers to accept less coverage than their bodily injury protection. Other people reject stacking. Stacking permits multiple coverages depending on the number of cars you have.
Contact us for Help With Calculating Pain and Suffering
If you or a loved one has been injured or someone has died in a car crash, you should contact an attorney as soon as possible. Pennsylvania has a statute of limitations of two years after the accident for filing a personal injury lawsuit. The sooner you file, the easier it is for your attorney to find witnesses and evidence to help your case.
Pennsylvania car accident attorney Clifford A. Rieders of Rieders, Travis, Dohrmann, Mowrey, Humphrey & Waters has spent decades honing his skills and successfully representing Pennsylvania families who have suffered an injury or loss due to another driver’s negligence. He has also earned many honors and awards over his career.
Our attorneys offer personal attention and loyalty to every client, aggressively fighting for their right to compensation. Contact Cliff Rieders at Rieders, Travis, Dohrmann, Mowrey, Humphrey & Waters by calling (570) 323-8711 or use our contact form to learn more about pain and suffering compensation. Based in Williamsport, we serve clients throughout the state of Pennsylvania and offer free consultations on all personal injury matters.
