Personal Injury Lawyer: How much is pain and suffering worth?
South Florida Injury Attorneys (Shamis & Gentile, P.A.), personal injury lawyer, discuss the value of pain and suffering in a Florida personal injury claim, where someone’s negligence caused your injury.
Pain and Suffering is the Biggest Unknown in an Injury Case
There are several types of damages that you may be entitled to in a personal injury case. Not all of the types of damages are as well-known as others. Non-economic damages include bodily injury, pain and suffering, disability and physical impairment, disfigurement, mental pain and anguish, inconvenience or loss of capacity for the past and future enjoyment of life.
Insurance Companies Typically Use a Range for Pain and Suffering
Claims adjusters typically use a range when placing a value on the pain and suffering component in an injury case. For example, an adjuster may say that the pain and suffering of a typical broken wrist in a Florida injury case is between $35,000 and $70,000. The difficult part is that there is no “set standard” for measuring pain and suffering. That being said, prior jury verdicts for similar injuries are certainly helpful to show the adjuster what kind of exposure they have at trial.
More Treatment = Usually Higher Full Value of Pain and Suffering
Generally speaking, the longer that you treat with a doctor, the higher the full value of pain and suffering. This is due to a variety of reasons, but as a general rule it is usually acceptable to view Pain and Suffering getting a higher payout with more visits.
Same Injury Different Settlement
One of the most common mistakes that people assume Just because you have the same injury you should not think that you are going to get the same settlement
as someone you know or another’s settlement that you read about in the media.
The difficulty in determining how much money you may get is one of the mean reasons to hire an accident lawyer if you’re injured.
Most people don’t know the settlement range for the pain and suffering element of a claim. The saying that the pain and suffering component is worth a multiple of the medical bills is often not true.
As a personal injury lawyer, the injured person or his/her lawyer needs to know the average settlement value of pain and suffering for different types of injuries in order to properly know when to settle before a lawsuit, and when to sue.
A liability claims adjuster needs to know the value of pain and suffering so that he or she can make a fair settlement offer.
Higher Chance Case Settles if Your Pain and Suffering Estimation is Right
If both sides (the injured person and the liability insurance adjuster) assign an overlapping range to the pain and suffering component, then both sides are one step closer to settlement. Getting on the same page with the adjuster and going over their concerns line item by line item is often very fruitful for settlement negations.
Both sides should assign a value for pain and suffering that overlaps. If one side mis-evaluates the pain and suffering component of a case, it makes the case much more difficult to settle.
Mortality Tables May Be Used to Calculate Future Pain and Suffering
If the injured person can show the adjuster that they are permanently injured, the adjuster may consider his or her life expectancy. The mortality tables may be considered in determining how long the injured person may be expected to live.
The adjuster does not have to use the mortality tables but they may consider them together with other evidence in the case bearing on injured person’s health, age and physical condition, before and after the injury, in determining the probable length of his or her life.
Keep in mind that the settlement value of the pain and suffering component for injuries in Florida cases is different from other states.
Miami Personal Injury Lawyer – Shamis & Gentile, P.A.
Call us now at 302-479-2299 to get a free consultation. There are no fees or costs for anything unless a Miami Personal Injury lawyer is able to recover for you. Call us 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year. We are here to help! Even if you do not have a case we will happily discuss your matter and give you our opinion on your best next steps. These situations are most likely new to you! Don’t be taken advantage of.
