How is Pain and Suffering Calculated?
While many losses following a car accident are financial, other losses can affect your ability to enjoy life, not necessarily taking money out of your pocket. Known as pain and suffering, claiming these damages can substantially increase the worth of your case. While an important part of recovery, insurance companies often do not properly calculate these damages, offering claimants low settlement amounts.
In South Carolina, pain and suffering damages are generally considered nonpecuniary losses that have a mental and emotional impact on a personal injury victim. If you have recently been in an accident, our Charleston, SC, personal injury lawyers can help calculate pain and suffering damages to determine if you are being offered just compensation on your claim.
What Qualifies as Pain and Suffering in South Carolina?
Pain and suffering damages are used interchangeably with non-economic damages. Non-economic damages are any losses that do not come with a price tag but affect your emotional, mental, and/or physical well-being.
Under South Carolina Code §15-32-210, non-economic damages may include, but are not limited to, any of the following:
- Pain and suffering
- Inconvenience
- Physical impairment
- Disfigurement
- Mental anguish
- Emotional distress
- Loss of society and companionship
- Loss of consortium
- Damage to reputation
- Humiliation
Methods for Calculating Pain and Suffering Damages
Whereas pain and suffering damages are often a large portion of a personal injury claim, there are two different methods used in calculating them. A personal injury lawyer will help you in gathering and calculating your economic damages (an important factor in determining non-economic damages). Additionally, a personal injury lawyer will advise you on which method will accurately reflect the worth of your accident case.
Per Diem Method
The per diem method is based on the per-day cost of your suffering. Generally, insurance companies and the court will use a concrete figure, usually your average daily income, in this calculation method. Your per-day cost will then be calculated by the number of days you experienced pain and suffering.
An example of the per diem method would be the following:
$115 [Average daily income] X 60 [number of days you experienced pain and suffering] = $6,900 total pain and suffering damages
While a straightforward method, the per diem method only works if your pain and suffering lasts for a definite period. For many, pain and suffering can be a lifelong struggle, causing the per diem method to not fairly compensate injury victims. Additionally, the per diem method does not fairly compensate lower-earning individuals, making it a less popular method for calculating pain and suffering damages.
Multiplier Method
At Wyndham Law Firm, we typically use the multiplier method to calculate pain and suffering damages. This method involves assigning a number to the severity of your injury on a scale from 1.5 to 5 (mild to severe injuries, respectively). Taking this number, we multiply it by your total economic damages to determine your non-economic losses. (Economic damages are verifiable financial losses such as lost earnings, medical expenses, and property damage that you sustained as a result of your injury).
An example of the multiplier method would be the following:
[$125,000 of medical expenses] + [$30,000 of lost income] + [$40,000 of property damage] = $195,000 total economic damages
$195,000 total economic damages X 4 [Multiplier]=$780,000 total pain and suffering damages
As you can see, the multiplier method provides a more complete picture of your pain and suffering, making it more widely used for low-income persons. When you hire our Charleston, SC, personal injury lawyers, you are ensuring that you will receive adequate compensation for your accident claim.
Reach Out to a Charleston Personal Injury Lawyer Today
If you have fallen victim to an accident in the Palmetto State, our Charleston, SC, personal injury lawyers are ready to assist you. Our team of personal injury lawyers have helped thousands of accident victims recover the extent of damages owed to them. Let us help you discover the true worth of your case. To schedule your free consultation, contact us online or by phone.