In North Carolina, the civil justice system recognizes that an incident such as a slip and fall or car crash often does not only hurt a victim physically, but also emotionally and psychologically. Being involved in an accident or living with a catastrophic injury is more than just financially damaging.
It’s important to know how to seek maximum financial compensation for your pain and suffering if you’ve been seriously injured by another person or entity. Contact our Wilmington personal injury lawyers at Shipman Wright & Moore, LLP to seek compensation. Schedule your free consultation today.
What Are Pain and Suffering?
“Pain and suffering” is a legal term that is used to describe a wide range of non-economic or intangible losses often associated with a harmful accident.
Pain and suffering in a personal injury claim may include:
- Physical pain
- Chronic pain
- Emotional distress
- Mental anguish or grief
- Loss of enjoyment of life
- Reduced quality of life
- Loss of consortium
- Anxiety, fear or depression
- Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
- Scarring or disfigurement
- Insomnia
Pain and suffering damages refer to an amount of financial compensation that can be recovered by victims for how an accident or injury has affected their lives.
Main Methods for Calculating Pain and Suffering in North Carolina
It can be difficult to determine the value of a pain and suffering award compared to economic damages, such as medical bills and lost wages, because there is no specific dollar amount assigned to how an individual feels. For this reason, insurance companies, judges and juries can choose any number they see fit to award in pain and suffering damages.
However, in many cases, one of two main methods is used to calculate a victim’s non-economic damages.
Multiplier Method
The Multiplier Method takes the total amount of economic damages assigned to an accident victim and multiplies it by a number between 1.5 and 5 to determine a fair amount in pain and suffering.
For example, if a Wilmington car accident victim is assigned $100,000 in economic damages and given a multiplier of 2 for moderate injuries, the victim’s non-economic damages would equal $200,000. Higher multipliers are used for more severe injuries.
Per Diem Method
The Multiplier Method is the most common one used to evaluate a victim’s pain and suffering damages in a personal injury claim. It is especially common in cases involving catastrophic and permanent injuries. However, a second equation is also relied upon, particularly in minor injury cases where the victim has a specific recovery date.
Under the Per Diem Method, a daily value in pain and suffering (typically equivalent to the individual’s daily wage) is assigned per day that the victim will likely experience these consequences of an injury. If a daily value of $300 is assessed, for example, and medical experts estimate a recovery timeline of 40 days, pain and suffering damages would equal $12,000.
Factors That Can Affect a Pain and Suffering Damage Award
Pain and suffering damages are highly subjective. Therefore, the evidence and storytelling supporting this type of claim are invaluable. The ability of the claimant to describe the significant losses caused by an injury can increase the value of his or her non-economic damage award.
This is why it is critical to hire an attorney to help you prove your claim. In general, more severe injuries will result in higher pain and suffering damages in North Carolina due to the significant hardships associated with these injuries.
If you or a loved one has suffered a life-changing injury in an accident, it is in your best interest to contact a personal injury attorney in Wilmington, NC to help you demonstrate and prove your pain and suffering to a judge or jury.