Pain and suffering is an important part of any car accident case. The amount of compensation that a victim can receive in pain and suffering often meets or even exceeds the amount of their economic damages. Too many victims who try to work without a personal injury attorney undervalue their economic damages. In order to settle your case properly, you need to include the right amount of pain and suffering compensation. Our personal injury attorney team explains:
How much should I ask for pain and suffering from a car accident?
You should ask for pain and suffering from a car accident that is between 50% and five times your economic damages. The exact amount that is appropriate is proportional to the severity of your injuries. For minor injuries that heal in a matter of weeks, 50% of your economic damages is appropriate. When the victim has lifelong injuries that are severe and limiting, five times the amount of economic damages is appropriate. In most cases, you should ask for pain and suffering from a car accident that is between 50% and 150% of your economic losses.
How to figure pain and suffering compensation
In all car accident cases, the value of your case is based on your actual losses. If your accident is minor, you don’t deserve as much in compensation as you deserve if your injuries are severe. For economic damages, the amount is easy to calculate by totaling up your damages. Of course, it’s always beneficial to work with an experienced personal injury law firm to make sure that you don’t miss out on categories of economic damages that may not be obvious. Examples of economic damages that may not be immediately clear are lost future income and household assistance services.
Once you calculate the amount of your economic damages, you turn to evaluate the amount of your non-economic damages. There isn’t one mathematical formula to calculate pain and suffering in all cases. Instead, you look at the severity of the accident. For minor injuries and relatively short recovery times, you ask for relatively less than if you have severe injuries.
What counts as a severe injury for pain and suffering?
In order to be severe, an injury may fall into several categories. Broken bones are a more serious injury than bruising, for example. However, an injury may be severe because it is disfiguring or because it is permanent. The level of pain that accompanies an injury can also play into how you calculate pain and suffering. To determine the proper amount, you evaluate all the relevant factors holistically.
Personal injury law firm for pain and suffering in a car accident
The pain and suffering compensation that you receive is a critical part of every car accident settlement. However, it can be hard to know what dollar amount is a reasonable amount of compensation. Our personal injury attorney team can help. If you’ve been in a car accident, contact our team for an evaluation of your case including a determination of the value of your pain and suffering.
