Serious car accidents can take a major toll on your physical and emotional wellbeing. They can require you to undergo extensive rehabilitation and various treatments to recover fully from your injuries. However, when calculating the value of your personal injury claim, you can also consider your pain and suffering.
How, precisely, does someone quantify pain and suffering? Below are a couple of different methods that many our car accident attorneys in San Diego utilize:
Method #1 — The Pain and Suffering Multiplier
It may sound silly that a multiplier exists to calculate pain and suffering. However, this happens to be an effective method of determining a settlement amount that fairly compensates you for all the collective damages caused by a car accident. Think about it — undergoing extensive treatment and medical rehabilitation will significantly affect your quality of life–you should never underestimate the value of your suffering.
The multiplier method involves a rough calculation of all the specific damages related to your accident multiplied by a number that represents the severity of your pain and suffering. Attorneys will typically arrive at a multiplier that is between 1.5 and 5. The multiplier would typically only rises to 4 or 5 if you suffered catastrophic injuries in your accident.
It goes without saying that the higher the multiplier, the more money you can seek in a settlement offer. However, the lawyers representing the defendant and insurance company will argue for a lower number. Listed below are the factors involved that will bring about a higher multiplier:
- A drawn out or unusually long recovery process
- Extensive and severe injuries that affect your quality of life and can cause future medical complications
- Injuries that cause physical deformities
Method #2 — Pain and Suffering Per Diem
“Per diem” refers to the pay rate that you receive daily. The concept of a pain and suffering per diem is to calculate and request a specific dollar amount for each day of suffering you experienced. Your attorney will essentially base this per diem amount on your average daily earnings along with other monetary damages associated with your pain and suffering.
Here is an example of the per diem method: You make roughly $40,000 a year, which means you earn $160 per day (the average person works 250 days annually). You then multiply the daily rate by the number of days you were suffering and experiencing pain. After 150 days of pain, you can request $24,000 in damages.
Fighting Back Against the Insurance Companies
You should never allow anyone to discount your pain and suffering, especially after sustaining severe, life-altering injuries from a car accident. We advise that you immediately seek compensation for damages caused by a negligent driver. Remember, you have multiple legal strategies that you can pursue, and you should always try to recover the maximum amount of money.
Are you currently seeking an attorney to oversee and represent your personal injury case? Here at HHJ Trial Attorneys in San Diego, we provide legal services for Californians involved in devastating car accidents. Schedule an appointment with us today, and we can immediately begin reviewing the details of your case.
Testimonial from Cassandra, Car Accident Victim in San Diego
My husband I and I were in a not-at-fault accident, and despite having crystal clear dash cam footage, had trouble receiving help with our claim and medical needs. We contacted HHJ Trial Attorneys and immediately felt put at ease and that our situation would be handled. And it was! Adam and his team were extremely responsive, communication was easy and convenient, and we hardly had to worry about anything.
