Not all injuries are strictly physical. Getting hurt in any type of accident can affect you mentally and emotionally, too. That’s why your personal injury attorney may recommend that you seek damages for pain and suffering in addition to medical expense reimbursement.
The big question, though, is how to calculate pain and suffering. Every case is different, and courts use several methods to evaluate claims and determine the potential award. However, with the help of a personal injury attorney in New York, you can understand the potential value of your claim.
What Is “Pain and Suffering”?
Legally speaking, pain and suffering refers to non-economic damages that you incur as a direct result of your injury. It covers things that don’t necessarily come with a price tag, like emotional pain, stress, physical suffering, trauma, and loss of enjoyment of life, but that matter just as much.
For example, you slip on some water at the grocery store and break your leg. You need surgery and spend months recovering, which means putting your life on hold and giving up your favorite hobbies.
Or perhaps you’re in a car accident and sustain a significant injury that causes chronic pain and headaches. You’re now afraid to get into a car, too, which has a substantial impact on your quality of life.
These impacts can be part of your personal injury compensation. Unlike other states, New York does not place a limit on pain and suffering claims for most personal injury cases, including medical malpractice, slip-and-fall accidents, car accidents, and other types of accidents. That means juries or insurance companies can assign a value based on the emotional and physical impact of your injury.
There is one big exception, though. For claims involving vehicle collisions, you must meet New York’s “serious injury” threshold under Insurance Law § 5102(d), which includes fractures, significant disfigurement, or injury preventing usual daily activities for at least 90 of the first 180 days after the accident. If your injury doesn’t meet that threshold, you can’t claim pain and suffering and can only seek no-fault benefits up to $50,000.
Pain and Suffering Calculation Methods: An Accident Injury Settlement Guide
If you meet the criteria to claim non-economic damages, the next question is how to calculate pain and suffering. There are two non-economic damages formulas the court can use, both of which aim to give structure to the emotional side of a claim.
The Multiplier Method
The multiplier method for calculating pain and suffering begins by adding up the economic damages, including medical bills, lost wages, and future care costs, and then multiplying the total by a number between 1.5 and 5, depending on the severity of the injuries. Mild injuries receive a lower multiplier, while severe or permanent ones receive a higher one.
The Per Diem Method
This calculation assigns a dollar amount to each day you suffered, based on the level of pain and disruption. Multiplying that amount by the number of days you were affected determines the amount of damages you may seek.
Understanding how to calculate pain and suffering helps you and your attorney set realistic expectations for your case. It can also help you determine whether a proposed settlement is fair or if it’s worth moving forward to a trial.
What Influences Your Pain and Suffering Award?
In general, New York juries and courts award higher-than-average payouts for pain and suffering compared to other states, second only to Florida in terms of payout amounts. According to the Lawsuit Information Center, which compiles reported case data, the median award in general personal injury cases in New York is approximately $288,000.
However, the facts of your case could result in a more or less favorable outcome. For example, Martindale-Nolo, a legal research center, reports that the average personal injury settlement or court award is $52,900, with the lowest compensation being around $3,000. The overall award amount can vary considerably in light of several factors, including the injury’s severity and its impact on your daily life. The more severe your injury and the more it affects your life and ability to perform your typical activities or enjoy life, the more you can ask for in your claim.
Documentation plays a critical role in supporting your claim. Proving your injury and medical treatment is essential to claiming economic damages, but you’ll also need to provide evidence that the injury caused pain and disrupted your life to shape your injury claim valuation. Keep in mind that New York’s statute of limitations on personal injury cases is three years in most cases.
Do You Have a Case? A Personal Injury Attorney in New York Can Help
Navigating personal injury laws and recovering damages in personal injury cases can be confusing, but working with a personal injury attorney in New York can help you understand your options and how to move forward. The team at Elliot Ifraimoff & Associates, P.C. is available to show you how to calculate pain and suffering, guide you through the process, and advocate for your case.
To learn more about making a claim, call (888) ASK-ELLIOT or (718) 205-1010 to request a consultation with one of our experienced attorneys.
FAQs About Calculating Pain and Suffering
Get answers to your questions about calculating non-economic damages from a personal injury attorney in New York.
What Counts As Pain and Suffering in New York?
Pain and suffering refer to personal, non-financial impacts, including physical pain, emotional trauma, stress, loss of enjoyment of life, anxiety, and more.
Is There a Limit on Pain and Suffering in New York?
Generally, New York allows full compensation for non-economic losses, but judges can reduce amounts if they’re deemed unreasonably high.
How Do Lawyers Calculate Pain and Suffering?
When determining how to calculate pain and suffering, most lawyers employ either the multiplier method (where economic damages are multiplied by a factor of 1.5 to 5) or the per diem method (where a daily amount is multiplied by the number of days affected). Typically, the more prolonged and severe the injury’s impact, the higher the number.