Personal Injury Pain and Suffering Calculator

• February 8, 2019
• Car Accidents
• Personal Injury Law
• Personal Injury Settlement Calculator 

PERSONAL INJURY SETTLEMENT CALCULATOR

If you’ve been injured because of someone else’s negligence, your Asheville personal injury lawyer can help you recover money that you deserve by law. This settlement usually will include payment for your medical bills, lost wages, and something called “pain and suffering.“

Calculations for medical bills and lost wages are usually very easy – if you have a $5,000 medical bill, the at-fault party owes you $5,000 to pay for that bill. But monetary damages for physical pain and mental suffering are much more difficult and subjective to calculate. This pain and suffering settlement calculator discusses some of the factors that help determine the compensatory value of physical pain and mental suffering. Keep in mind that a jury usually makes this valuation, and the actual basis for settlements relies on how a jury might value the case.

PERSONAL INJURY CASE VALUE CALCULATOR

Understand that no attorney can guarantee that you will win a certain amount in your personal injury case. As we’ll explain next, various factors play a role in the potential value of your case. You can use a personal injury case value calculator to gain a general idea of a potential settlement. Some of the key items a calculator will use include:

• Medical Expenses: This is the cost of any medical care you received related to the accident.
• Lost Wages: This is the wages you were unable to earn while missing work because of your injuries.
• Future Medical Expenses: If you will have ongoing expenses for medical care after the accident, your settlement can include an estimated amount for these.
• Future Lost Wages: If you no longer can work in the same capacity you did before the accident or if you must take a lower-paying job because of your injuries, your settlement can include an estimated amount of compensation.

Add all of these items together for a starting point for the amount you could receive. Any pain and suffering award amount would be in addition to these items. Remember, a calculator only provides an estimate. It’s impossible for a random calculator on the web to fully take into account the nuances of your case, which greatly limits its accuracy. Speaking with our personal injury team is the best way to obtain an estimate about a potential pain and suffering settlement, based on the actual facts in your case.

Pain and Suffering Settlement Calculator

When calculating a pain and suffering judgment, courts may apply a multiplier. This means multiplying the amount calculated for lost wages and medical care by a certain number to determine a pain and suffering judgment. The multiplier often is between 1.5 and 5, but it could be larger or smaller. Those with long-lasting and life-changing injuries will be eligible to potentially receive pain and suffering determined by using a higher multiplier. If your future quality of life suffers a significant reduction because of the accident, you could be in line to receive an amount calculated using an extremely high multiplier, too. A pain and suffering settlement calculator may look like this.

TBI Settlement Calculator

If you suffered a TBI (traumatic brain injury), this greatly affects the amount you can request in a settlement. A TBI is one of the most serious injuries a victim can suffer in an accident and survive. However, the effects of a TBI can be difficult for doctors to fully diagnose, which makes determining a pain and suffering calculation tricky. This means it is not a good approach to use a one-size-fits-all TBI settlement calculator.

A TBI may negatively affect your quality of life for months or years. Some people never recover fully after a TBI. When suffering from a TBI, you may be unable to enjoy the same activities you loved before the accident. You may need to relearn communication skills you previously took for granted. Your ability to do simple tasks may suffer because of headaches and light sensitivity related to the TBI. Your experiences with your family and friends may completely change. You deserve a large multiplier that compensates you for these life-changing items.

CAR ACCIDENT SETTLEMENT CALCULATOR

Remember, the information here is a simple estimate provided for instructional purposes alone. This is not a legally binding estimate, nor is it a guarantee of what kind of settlement our personal injury lawyers could win on your behalf. Our pain and injury settlement calculator shown above provides only a very basic estimation for this part of a car accident settlement. As we’ll discuss later, no victim in a case should rely on online calculators to make decisions. A calculator can only go so far.

The only true way for us to determine the proper amount to request from the negligent party in your case is to work through the facts. Call Lakota R. Denton at 828-333-5996 as soon as possible for a free case review.

How We Request a Settlement Amount on Your Behalf

When you hire our team, we will collect all of the facts in your case. We will investigate the circumstances in the accident, and we will interview your doctors to determine your long-term health outlook. We will use this information to determine an amount to request for your settlement, and if you can sue for pain and suffering. When the person whose negligence caused your accident has insurance, we will seek this settlement from the insurer. The insurer may disagree with our request, leading to a negotiation phase. If negotiations fail, we will need to take the case to court.

The following items will play a role in the settlement amount we decide to request.

The Extent of Your Injuries

The more serious your injuries, the more value your pain and suffering settlement will have. You can imagine that a jury will allow for higher monetary damages in a settlement for a person who has suffered a broken leg and hip than for someone who has suffered a back strain.

However, it’s not always clear how serious some injuries really are. A concussion can sometimes go away very quickly and not cause much pain. Or a concussion can be a sign of a deeper traumatic brain injury with symptoms such as dizziness, nausea, depression, blurred vision, and suicidal thoughts that never go away for the rest of the person’s life. Additionally, injuries that are easy for a jury to understand and visualize usually allow for a greater pain and suffering judgment. For example, a broken leg is obvious on an X-ray, whereas a concussion would not show up on any imaging at all. The TBI or concussion diagnosis comes from analyzing a set of symptoms. With our representation on your side, we can show a jury the extent of your injuries, even without obvious X-rays available.

The more severe your injuries, the more physical pain and mental suffering a jury will likely award. Juries tend to assume that you cannot be too badly injured from a minor fender bender (despite a lot of medical evidence to the contrary). Juries also assume that more serious accidents can cause more serious injuries, like you would expect in a rollover car crash or falling through a roof from 30 feet in the air. Evidence that shows the seriousness of the accident to a jury will greatly increase the value of the pain and suffering claim. Our personal injury lawyers use photographs or video of the incident, as well as expert recreations and testimony, to help our presentation.

PERSONAL INJURY CALCULATORS

The Amount of Your Medical Bills

Many online “pain and suffering calculators” oversimplify the calculation. They tell you to multiply your medical bills by 3 to give you an amount for which to settle your case. This is simply false and misleading. If you follow this method, you will either greatly overvalue your case or you will be leaving money on the table when you settle.

We’ve seen many serious injuries with minimal medical bill costs. If someone suffers a permanent traumatic brain injury in a car crash, their only medical bills might be for some diagnostic tests and follow up care with a neurologist. It’s possible that no surgery or inpatient care would occur, and the bills could be less than $10,000. You should never settle a permanent traumatic brain injury for $30,000 if you don’t have to. The pain and suffering judgment should be much higher.

Similarly, some people go to the emergency room after an accident and receive multiple CT scans and MRIs, only to confirm that no injuries occurred. Their medical bills could be over $25,000, but they may not have any injury at all. The amount of your medical bills influences the value of your pain and suffering claim, but it is not the only factor.

The Behavior of the Defendant

The egregiousness of the defendant’s behavior influences the pain and suffering value of your case. When a defendant is a sweet old man who crashed into your car and then apologized and offered to pay for all of your medical bills immediately, it does not enhance the value of your pain and suffering claim. However, if the defendant was a drunk driver who already had a suspended license for drinking and driving and fled the scene of the crash, it would enhance your potential pain and suffering claim. Juries are likely to hold defendants more responsible when the defendants’ actions are egregious.

PERSONAL INJURY CLAIMS CALCULATOR

After an accident with injuries that wasn’t your fault, you will have many questions. These questions may include:

• How much should I ask for in a personal injury settlement?
• Is there an auto accident settlement formula?
• What is a personal injury claims calculator?

As a victim of someone else’s negligence, you will obviously want to try and figure out your potential compensation. You might have a temptation to make use of a free personal injury settlement calculator. However, the best thing to do is find a personal injury lawyer who is experienced and has good reviews from satisfied clients of past personal injury cases, like Lakota R. Denton.

TALK TO OUR ATTORNEY ABOUT THE VALUE OF YOUR PERSONAL INJURY CASE

When you hire a personal injury lawyer, insurance companies are likely to take your case more seriously. Insurance companies always try to settle for as little as possible to maintain a strong profit margin. Our team knows how to counteract these techniques to help you win the most favorable settlement.

Does your lawyer have a history of being willing to file lawsuits and take cases to trial when negotiations stall? If so, insurance companies will pay more for your claim to avoid the expense of a trial. On the flip side, does your lawyer advertise heavily on TV and settle every case before ever filing a lawsuit, speeding things along so the lawyer can take on as many cases as possible? If so, insurance companies will know that your lawyer will try to force you to settle for less than you should. Consequently, the insurer will offer less money in a settlement. Our team is willing to go to court when conditions warrant it, working as hard as we can to help you win the award you deserve.

CONTACT LAKOTA R. DENTON

After an accident that wasn’t your fault, our team is ready to help. Speak to us to determine whether you have a case and what it might be worth. If you need help getting the proper medical treatment, Asheville Personal Injury Lawyer Lakota Denton is here to assist you.

Even with all of the personal injury settlement calculators available, there is no single simple formula to calculate your pain and suffering judgment. The seriousness of your injuries, the severity of the accident, the amount of your medical bills, and the behavior of the defendant all play large roles. Importantly, hiring a lawyer who is willing to file a lawsuit and go to court if necessary will have a major impact on the value of your case. Our no-pressure consultations are always free. Call us at 828-333-5996 or email our office today.