A car accident (or any personal injury) can drastically change your life in many ways. One obvious impact is the economic one—medical bills, lost wages, physical therapy, and paying for household services (cleaning, childcare, etc.) are common losses car accident victims experience.
But even if you got all your bills paid and replaced all your lost income, that still wouldn’t make it a fair settlement. In addition to those financial losses, you may be dealing with ongoing and inconvenient medical treatment, chronic pain, permanent disfigurement, the lingering effects of a brain injury, loss of enjoyment of life, or other struggles.
These losses are often collectively referred to as “pain and suffering.” In the legal world, we typically refer to them as “non-economic damages” or “non-pecuniary” damages.”
In a lot of serious car accident cases, the amount of non-economic damages is calculated as a multiple of the total economic damages—often using a factor of 1 to 5, based on how severe your injuries are. However, that’s an oversimplification that won’t apply in every case.
In this blog, we’ll take a closer look at how non-economic damages are typically calculated by the insurance company in an average car accident settlement. However, keep in mind that you’re not going to get a precise answer from a blog post. Each case is unique, so be sure to speak to an experienced car accident lawyer to get a better sense of what you might be able to expect from your own car accident claim.
A quick overview: What is pain and suffering?
People who are injured in car accidents caused by someone else’s negligence can seek compensation in the form of damages. In a Texas car accident claims, you can demand three types of damages:
- Economic damages. These are specific financial losses associated with an injury, such lost income, medical expenses, and property damage.
- Non-economic damages. Damages that affect you and your lifestyle that don’t have a clear-cut financial value are considered “non-economic damages.”
- Punitive damages. In rare cases, punitive damages might be awarded in a car accident lawsuit to punish at-fault drivers for extreme recklessness or carelessness. Examples might be driving while drunk, or a trucking company intentionally falsifying log books.
When we talk about pain and suffering, we’re really talking about those non-economic damages. In Texas, there are four specific categories of non-economic damages:
- Physical pain. For example headaches, chronic back pain, or any other painful symptoms that reduce the quality of your life.
- Mental anguish. This might include post-traumatic stress disorder, depression, anxiety, grief due to death of a family member in the accident, loss of benefits of a relationship, or other forms of emotional pain or psychological trauma.
- Physical impairment. Includes any long-term or permanent disability or disfunction, such limited limb movement, loss of strength or stamina, etc.
- Disfigurement. If your injuries are unsightly (for example, permanent scarring, deformity, etc.) you can claim disfigurement damages even if there is no associated physical pain or disfunction.
In each category, damages are awarded for the pain and suffering an accident victim has already experienced, as well as pain and suffering that “in reasonable probability” is expected to occur or continue into the future.
As you can imagine, these damages are inherently subjective and difficult to evaluate. How do you calculate “fair compensation” for dealing with chronic headaches, or being unable to pick up and hold your child?
How is pain and suffering calculated in a typical car accident settlement?
If everyone received “fair” compensation for their non-economic damages, there would be a lot more multi-million-dollar car accident settlements. However, calculations depend on specific factors—some of which are out of your control.
Key factors that determine how much compensation you can obtain for non-economic damages
The amount of compensation you can obtain for your pain and suffering will depend on factors such as:
- The amount of economic damages. Many insurance companies use the “multiplier method” (outlined below) to calculate non-economic damages. This means that non-economic damages usually scale with economic damages.
- The size of the negligent party’s insurance policy. If the at-fault driver was only carrying minimum coverage for their personal automobile (in Texas, that’s $30,000 per injured person and up to $60,000 per accident), and they have no other assets to pay you, you’ll be limited in terms of how much you can realistically collect from them.
- Whether you carried supplemental insurance coverage. If your own auto insurance policy includes uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage, this can provide extra coverage if the at-fault driver’s policy is insufficient.
- The extent and severity of your injuries. In general, the more severe your physical injuries are, the more your non-economic damages will be valued—especially if you require extensive medical treatment and/or suffer permanent injuries that cause ongoing pain, mental anguish, or disability.
- How your injuries impact your life and relationships. Even if two people suffer the same injury with the same physical symptoms, the emotional and psychological impact can be very different. A great personal injury attorney will work hard to put the impact of your injuries into context, in a way that the jury can easily understand and empathize with.
- Aggravating factors. Juries tend to award more in damages if the at-fault party’s negligence goes beyond an “innocent mistake”—for example, if they lied during testimony or were texting and driving. Insurance companies know this, and may provide higher settlement offers to avoid a big loss at trial.
You might find online calculators that promise to compute your non-economic damages, but it’s virtually impossible to accurately calculate the monetary value of pain and suffering in this way. Your case is unique and requires a detailed, personalized analysis. This is why most people rely on an experienced personal injury lawyer.
RELATED SUCCESS STORY: After Crash with Negligent Driver, Amanda C. Finds Success with Crosley Law Firm
Common methods of calculation
Although there’s no set rule for calculating non-economic damages, most insurance companies use a variation of one of two common methods:
- Multiplier method: Take the total value of all the economic damages suffered by the client. (This means all damages that cost real money, like lost wages and past and future medical expenses.) Then, multiply that number by a factor based on the severity of your injuries. As noted above, multipliers between 1 and 5 are often used, with a 3X multiplier being typical. Severe injuries that result in permanent disability, chronic pain, or other long-term effects tend to receive a higher multiplier than those with temporary or less severe effects.
- Per diem method: Count the number of days since the injury that the victim experienced pain, both in the past, as well as the projected future. (This might be until they make a full recovery, or reach “maximum medical improvement.”) Multiply this number by a daily rate. In most cases, the daily rate used will be based upon a standard hourly wage rate for the victim’s waking hours.
That said, any given car accident case is worth whatever a jury thinks it’s worth. There are no hard and fast rules. An experienced car accident attorney can help you increase the amount of car accident compensation by helping you tell your story in a way that juries can understand and empathize with.
Recent trial verdict examples from Crosley Law
Carla’s story
Last year Crosley Law represented Carla, a woman who suffered serious neck, shoulder, and back pain after being rear-ended by a distracted driver.
Carla dealt with severe pain for over a year, with treatments only providing partial or temporary relief. She eventually needed neck surgery to replace a damaged cervical disk.
In addition to approximately $850k in economic damages, the jury awarded Carla:
- $750,000 in past and future physical pain ($700,000 of this was for future pain, indicating that she will likely deal with symptoms for the rest of her life)
- $200,000 in past and future mental anguish
- $150,000 in past and future physical impairment
- $6,000 in past and future disfigurement
RELATED POST: https://crosleylaw.com/client-stories/crosley-law-wins-1-95m-for-injury-victim-with-no-vehicle-damage/
Timothy’s story
In 2022, Crosley Law represented Timothy, a man who was seriously injured after his pickup was re-ended by an 18-wheeler. The insurance company in this case tried to argue that most of Tim’s very serious symptoms were the result of pre-existing ailments; we strongly disagreed (and so did the jury, after our work at trial).
On top of about $775k in economic damages, the jury awarded Tim:
- $1.25 million in past and future physical pain.
- $1 million in past and future mental anguish.
- $1 million in past and future physical impairment.
Car Crash? Call Crosley
At Crosley Law, we take time to get to know our clients and their stories. Once we understand how your injuries changed your life, we’ll use this information to calculate your non-economic damages. If necessary, we’ll consult with experts like doctors, psychologists, and long-term care specialists who can help document and explain the extent of your non-economic damages.
We have a single goal: helping you make the fullest and fairest recovery possible. To request a free consultation with an experienced car accident lawyer, simply complete our quick online form or call 210-LAW-3000 | 210-529-3000 today.
The content provided here is for informational purposes only and should not be construed as legal advice on any subject.
