Often when one gets injured, the worst part of the experience is lingering pain.  For this reason, pain and suffering is a distinct category of damages that is compensable in a personal injury lawsuit.  Pain and suffering is a non-economic damage because it does not have a value attached to it.   Nonetheless, courts and insurance companies have developed methods to place a dollar value on it.

Multiplier Method

Insurers often approximate general damages, which include pain and suffering, by applying a multiplier to the out-of-pocket damages suffered by the victim. The first step would be to add up all the economic damages (which could include medical expenses, approximated future medical expenses, lost wages, loss of earning capacity, property damage, etc).  The next step would be to determine a multiplier between 1.5 and 5 to apply to the economic damages.  The severity of the injuries suffered by the victim should determine which multiplier is selected.   The resulting product should yield a grand total for the victim’s damages.

Specific factors that bear on the severity of the injuries:

-presence of permanent physical impairment

-psychological effects of the injuries

-the day to day pain experienced as a result of the accident

-inability to perform tasks of daily life

Sample Damage Calculation

Vanessa Victim is shopping at Walmart. She suddenly slips and falls on a wet floor, which results in severe knee and back injuries.  Despite surgery, her back is in chronic pain and the pain prevents her from playing tennis, her lifelong passion. The damages that flow from Vanessa’s injuries are calculated as follows:

Special damages (medical bills, lost wages, rehabilitation):              $100,000

Choice of multiplier – because Vanessa suffers loss of quality of life and pain, the multiplier is 4.5.

Total damages - $450,000

 Limitations to Pain and Suffering Damages in Florida

 Unfortunately, Florida law limits recovery for pain and suffering for personal injuries for automobile accidents.   Florida has a “no fault” auto insurance system.  This means that, for most auto accident claims, the victim can not sue the other driver, even if he is completely at fault.  Instead, the victim’s first source of payment would be his own personal injury protection (PIP) insurance policy that pays 80% of medical bills and 60% of loss of income up to a limit of $10,000. 

In order to recover directly from the at-fault driver for injuries, the victim must suffer a “serious injury”.  Florida law defines this term to encompass:

 ·         Significant and permanent loss of an important bodily function

 ·         Permanent injury within a reasonable degree of medical probability  

 ·         Significant and permanent scarring or disfigurement 

  Conclusion

            As you can see, estimating damages in a personal injury lawsuit is complicated and depends on many factors.   This is one reason why it is very important that you use an experienced personal injury lawyer to maximize your recovery.  Call Florida personal injury attorney John Clarke is you have been injured at (305)467-5560.  You never pay a fee unless he recovers for you.