“Pain and suffering” is a legal term that refers to general damages. Car wrecks and other accidents cause significant bodily injuries, and not all losses are financial in nature. Anyone who suffers a bodily injury will also experience physical and emotional pain. Helpfully, Georgia allows these victims to seek pain and suffering damages as part of an insurance claim or lawsuit. Griffin Law Firm, P.C. is prepared to help anyone hurt in an accident seek financial compensation, including pain and suffering damages. Reach out to speak with our Snellville personal injury lawyer at our firm about your case.
What are some types of General Damages (non-economic damages)?
- Pain and suffering
- Emotional distress
- Anxiety
- Depression
- Loss of enjoyment of life
- Loss of consortium – Your spouse can recover for the negative impact your injuries cause on your marriage.
- Scarring
- Permanent disfigurement
- Permanent impairment ratings
Bodily Pain
Injuries leave our clients with a variety of injuries, including:
- Back injuries
- Burns
- Broken bones
- Strains or sprains
- Concussions or traumatic brain injuries
- Whiplash
- And more!
These injuries cause discomfort. Sometimes the pain is acute, such as shooting or stabbing pain, whereas other people experience more chronic discomfort, such as chronic lower back pain. Other clients struggle with constant headaches, lethargy, or nerve pain.
Physical pain is a component of “pain and suffering” damages, so our clients should receive money as compensation. Of course, you might think money is inadequate to compensate you for around-the-clock pain. Who wouldn’t want their old pain-free body back instead of a pile of cash? But the defendant who injured you cannot make the pain go away. However, auto insurance companies who cover your personal injury claim can pay you money for your medical bills, lost wages, and pain and suffering, which is an imperfect substitute but still meaningful.
Mental or Emotional Pain
Pain and suffering damages also include compensation for psychological distress, including:
- Depression
- Anxiety
- Flashbacks
- Post-traumatic stress disorder
- Irritability
Some law firms consider emotional distress damages distinct from pain and suffering damages, whereas others lump them together. The key is to realize that your emotional distress also warrants compensation, regardless of the label assigned to it.
How Pain and Suffering are Calculated
In most settlements, we seek compensation for special and general damages. Special damages include things like medical bills, lost income, or damage to your vehicle. These damages are easier to calculate because there is usually a bill we can show the insurance companies. It is very important to also get medical documentation for any future medical treatment that is being recommended with a cost projection. Seasoned personal injury attorneys can often recover for all of your past medical treatment, as well as the cost of any future treatment that the doctors anticipate you will need.
General damages like pain and suffering are much harder to put a price tag on. How much can you receive? Ultimately, if your case does not settle, the jury will decide how much you should receive for your pain and suffering. Experienced personal injury lawyers often use before and after witnesses to explain to the jury how your injuries have negatively impacted your life. These witnesses can be from your family, your friends, your co-workers, church friends, school friends, coaches, or teachers. It can be very impactful when someone can give specific examples of how your ability to live your life has been changed or limited by your injuries.
Our experienced personal injury lawyers also argue for additional pain and suffering compensation if your injuries qualify you for a permanent impairment rating. Since a permanent impairment rating means that you will continue to experience pain and limitations from your injuries for the rest of your life, these ratings can have a big impact on the value of your injury claim.
There are a couple of ways to calculate pain and suffering:
Multiplier Method
Some lawyers use the multiplier method. Essentially, they add up your special damages (lost wages, medical bills, etc.) and then multiply this amount by 1.5-5.
For example, your special damages could be $10,000. So they will add another $15,000 to $50,000 on top for pain and suffering.
The multiplier method is helpful in giving accident victims a rough idea of how much they might request. But some injuries cause intense distress even if they do not require expensive medical treatment. Think of a thick purple scar across someone’s face. That might only require a few thousand dollars in antibiotics and stitches, but it can lead to intense emotional distress, including depression and anxiety.
Per Diem Method
Another popular method is the per diem approach. Per diem is Latin for “by the day.” Essentially, a lawyer comes up with a daily rate for pain and multiplies it by the number of days you struggled with pain and suffering.
For example, a lawyer might believe your pain is worth $250 a day. Under this approach, someone who experienced pain for 60 days would request $15,000 in pain and suffering damages.
There are limitations to this method. For one thing, assigning a daily value for pain is subjective. How much is enough? $200 a day? $300? Also, some pain is more intense and disabling than mild discomfort, so a person should receive more.
What is a Fair Settlement for Pain and Suffering?
At Griffin Law Firm, P.C., we don’t rigidly rely on any multiplier or calculator. Instead, we use our experience and research skills to arrive at a fair number. With over 30 years of winning injury claims, our experience and knowledge help us accurately project the likely value of your injury claim.
If your case went to trial, then a jury would use its common sense to arrive at a number for pain and suffering damages. The good news is that most of our cases are settled without litigation, but if needed, we have an excellent track record of winning cases at trial. Another valuable tool is jury verdict research which allows us to find the best jury verdicts and settlements of other cases with similar facts to your case. Don’t make the mistake of thinking you can do an online search for case values because these search results are often just attorney marketing efforts. However, our firm utilizes the most accepted jury verdict research which is used by mediators, defense attorneys, and plaintiff attorneys throughout the country.
Generally, serious bodily limitations like paralysis or permanent speech impediments warrant more pain and suffering damages. The same is true of permanent disfigurement, like scars or burns on the face.
Limitations on Pain and Suffering Compensation
Our Snellville personal injury lawyer is committed to maximizing the compensation our clients receive for their settlements. However, personal injury recoveries are often limited by the following:
- The defendant does not have enough auto insurance to pay the full value of your injury claim.
- You don’t have uninsured motorist or under-insured motorist coverage, or it’s not enough.
- You are the victim of a hit and run with an unknown negligent driver.
- You don’t get all of the medical treatment you need to fully document your injuries, and the impact those injuries have on your life.
Another limitation is the defendant’s financial resources. You might have suffered $1 million in medical bills, but the defendant has no money in the bank and no insurance. In that case, your recovery is limited to the size of the insurance policy.
That same principle applies to pain and suffering damages. You might experience intense pain, so you deserve $500,000. But if the defendant can’t pay it, then you won’t receive everything you deserve.
A second limitation is your own contributory negligence. In Georgia, your share of fault will reduce your settlement proportionally. So someone who is 35% to blame for an accident will receive 35% less.
Even worse, if you are 50% or more at fault, then Georgia law declares you will receive nothing. That punitive rule is found at O.C.G.A. § 51-12-33.
Documenting Your Pain and Suffering
A big challenge is convincing a claims adjuster that you are experiencing pain. They might disbelieve you or claim you are exaggerating your symptoms.
Work with your personal injury attorney to discuss ways of documenting pain and mental distress. You can keep a journal, for example, where you record how you feel every day. Another option is to have friends and family offer to testify on your behalf. They have observed you struggle with pain, depression, and other suffering.
Medical evidence is also helpful. You might receive prescriptions for pain, anxiety, insomnia, or depression. Your doctor or therapist can testify about your struggles.
Schedule Your Free Consultation
Griffin Law Firm, P.C. is dedicated to helping accident victims navigate the claims process. We have obtained large settlements for many people injured in a range of accidents. Contact us to schedule a meeting.