The most common approach is to add up the medical bills related to the accident and multiply them by a number between 1.5 on the low end and 4 or 5 on the high end. The diet method (for each day) calculates damages from pain and suffering by multiplying the daily dollar value that the insurance company has assigned to pain and suffering. This value may be based on medical evaluations, expert opinions, or the nature of the injury. This dollar value is then multiplied by the estimated number of days the person is expected to suffer pain and suffering due to the injury caused by negligence.
If you have suffered a personal injury that caused you intense pain and suffering, it can be difficult to quantify the weight of your distress, let alone the monetary value. However, there are several ways to calculate the compensation you deserve. Most of the time, pain and suffering are calculated using the multiplier method, the diet method, or a patented pain and suffering calculator, which are primarily used by insurance companies. The diet method uses the length of recovery time as a starting point for calculating the damages caused by pain and suffering.
The most common way to calculate damages for pain and suffering is through the use of a multiplier. This method takes your economic damages (medical bills, lost wages) and multiplies them by a number between 1.5 and 5, depending on the severity of your injuries. Proving a pain and suffering claim is often when things get difficult, and an experienced injury law firm can help. Fortunately, there are no laws in Washington State that limit compensation for pain and suffering.
Mental pain and suffering can result from bodily injury and manifest as loss of enjoyment of life, mental distress, emotional distress, and negative emotions such as fear, sadness, anxiety, humiliation, shock, and anger. After evaluating the evidence and reviewing all the documentation provided by your legal team, the jury will decide (a) if you deserve compensation for pain and suffering as a result of the personal injury in question and, if so, (b) which multiplier best reflects the severity of your injury. As you can see, quantifying the emotional distress of a piano teacher who has lost his fingers in an accident is going to be much more complicated than doing a quick calculation with the Per Diem method. However, a personal injury attorney will be able to estimate and fight for maximum compensation for their client based on previous experience in pain and suffering cases. Insurance companies, as well as attorneys who engage in alternative dispute resolution (ADR), often use what is called the multiplier method to calculate compensation for pain and suffering.
However, for less common or obvious injuries, such as soft tissue injuries, whiplash, and muscle strains, it is more difficult for medical providers and laypeople to determine how much pain a person is suffering. In addition to receiving compensation for your pain and suffering, the court can also award you compensation for the economic damages that were the result of your injury. This type of “damage calculator” multiplies your diets by the number of days it took you to recover, from the date of your injury to the date your doctor discharged you. The two most common methods are the multiplier method and the diet method, but it's also common for insurance companies to use their own pain and suffering calculator.
Damages for pain and suffering are awarded for the physical discomfort and emotional distress caused by the accident.