Tips from Personal Injury Lawyer: How Much Do I Receive for Pain and Suffering?

How much you’ll receive for your pain and suffering depends on how well you submit your claim, as well as the weight of the evidence used.

Have been injured due to someone else’s negligence?  The law allows you to seek compensation from that person’s or company’s insurance company. Personal injuries are some of the most common types of compensation claims since the damages can occur anywhere and at any time. For instance, injuries can be a result of a car accident, slip and fall, or contact with chemical substances.

Regardless of the cause, you can always recover your damages—whether material or non-material—provided you follow the required procedures. However, if this is your first time in such a situation, it can be quite difficult to figure out how much you can claim from the at-fault party. As such, you might end up receiving a fraction of the expected value. So, how much is your case worth?

What Does ‘Pain And Suffering’ Mean?

As earlier stated, there are many common causes of a personal injury that you need to know about. One thing they have in common is the fact that victims suffer some pain due to the injuries. In the corridors of law, this is referred to as ‘pain and suffering.’ It’s not only limited to the physical injuries as the victim may also experience emotional and mental injuries. 

How ‘Pain And Suffering’ Damages are Calculated

Securing the services of a lawyer from a reputable firm, like Spaulding Injury Law, will increase your chances of winning the case. One of the reasons is because an attorney understands the law and will defend your rights in case the at-fault party’s insurance company fails to meet the expectations. Nonetheless, it would still help if you understood how the final amount is calculated.

There are two main ways to determine how much your case is worth. Most attorneys were trained to use one of the two methods, but there’s no hard and fast rule since they both depend on your understanding. Nevertheless, the final result from both should be the same or somewhat similar. 

• • Method 1: The Multiplier Technique

As the name suggests, this method includes a multiplier, such that the total damages incurred by the plaintiff are multiplied by a given number. The insurance company will determine all the medical bills and wages lost after the accident and add them up. The sum will, then, be multiplied by any number between one and five; the number used here is dependent on the severity of the injury. For example, a broken arm may be taken as level three, therefore, the total compensation will be triple the damages.

Watch this video for more information on how much you should receive for pain and suffering: https://youtu.be/hAdOQ0ZIkzs.

• • Method 2: The Per Diem Technique

Another way is by considering the number of days the plaintiff has suffered. The per diem (per day) method demands that a certain amount is assigned to every day. The number of days is counted from the day of the accident until when the plaintiff has fully recovered. For instance, if USD$100 is assigned for each day and recovery takes 90 days, then, the victim will receive USD$9,000. 

Any Atlanta personal injury lawyer you hire understands at least one of the two methods. Therefore, you can rest, knowing that your case will be in good hands. It is, however, worth noting that the insurance company is under no obligation to use either of the two methods. In fact, many companies opt for computer programs to determine an estimate of the compensation. 

These programs are designed to consider both the type of injury and the medical treatment offered to the claimant. As such, you can expect lower payment if the treatment was by a chiropractor rather than a physician. The line of thought here is that a visit to a physician signifies a more serious injury than the former.

Also, the weight of your personal injury proof may also determine the value of compensation. Therefore, before submitting your claim, make sure you have gathered enough evidence to back it up. Finding the best lawyer for your case will also ensure that you have a better chance of recovering a satisfactory amount.

Conclusion

How much you’ll receive for your pain and suffering depends on how well you submit your claim, as well as the weight of the evidence used. All these will be taken into account when calculating an estimate of your compensation. Although there are two main methods used by attorneys to determine the amount, most insurance companies opt for computer programs. Many lawyers are trained to use one of the two techniques, but the most experienced ones know all common methods of calculation. Therefore, securing the services of an attorney will increase your chances of winning the case.