Pain and suffering are something that people tend to talk about after being in an accident and when filing lawsuits against those that have caused accidents. When you are in an accident that does cause pain and suffering it is always important to take the time to talk with your attorney about the possible compensation that you might be entitled to is. There are different methods for determining how much pain and suffering compensation you are entitled to and your attorney can help.
What are Pain and Suffering?
Pain and suffering are both the actual pain that you endure as the result of the injuries that you sustain in an accident as well as any suffering or any other discomfort that you have had to go through. This could be time off work, having to cancel plans, mental anguish that might come with injury, and more. Pain and suffering are going to be different from person to person and depending on the accident that you were in.
If you are dealing with pain from broken bones, pain from lacerations or muscle strains, and even pain from things like whiplash, you may be entitled to pain and suffering payments. It is best in any case, to talk to your lawyer about what types of payment you might be entitled to. For those that are looking for a great law team, the lawyers with Feroleto Law can certainly help.
What are Pain and Suffering Multipliers?
When a pain and suffering suit is set into motion your lawyer and the insurance companies will take the total value of your medical bills and other damages into account, and they will work to multiply them by a base factor to determine how much money is going to be paid out in total. Multipliers are used as a standard of measure and are used to help determine what amount of settlement is going to be paid. Multiplier fall within the range of 1.5 up to five in most cases.
As a general rule, the insurance company is going to try to argue for the lowest possible multiplier to help pay the least amount of money out as possible. It helps to look at an actual number figure. Say you have $25,000 in medical bills following your accident. Your lawyer is of course going to be arguing for the highest multiplier possible which is often 5, this would make the total settlement $150,000. The insurance company on the other hand is going to be arguing for the smaller number, 1.5 which would total $37,500 in total.
Hardly ever is the largest or the smallest multiplier going to be used. In most cases, the insurance company and your lawyer will argue until they come to an agreement about which multiplier to use. In a case that is around $25,000 in bills, the multiplier is often going to fall in the middle around 3 making this type of settlement around $75,000.
How is the Multiplier Selected?
The multiplier is selected based on a few different factors. It will take into account the total of your bills for starters. This will give your lawyer and the insurance company a place to start and a base. Your overall injuries will be taken into account as well. If you have to take an extended amount of time off work for example, if you have to get help around the home, if you have to go to numerous doctor visits, etc. these are all going to be taken into consideration to help determine what multiplier is going to be used.
If you have a minimal injury your multiplier is often going to be smaller as you are seen as having had less of a struggle so to speak or less recovery time from the accident. If you are suffering from very difficult injuries that do take a great deal of time to recover from injury and your multiplier is likely going to be higher. Your lawyer is going to argue to get you the highest multiplier possible, so they are going to take the time to collect as much information as possible, to make sure that they have the full picture, and they may even have you talk and put forth your story yourself.
The insurance company really does set out to pay as little as possible and to get the settlement as low as they can, and they are going to try to downplay your injury and your overall pain and suffering. A pain and suffering settlement can help you pay your bills, it can help you to get money to live off of until you can return to work, it can help you feel financially secure, and it can help you start to get back to normal life. It in no way reduces the significance of your injury and it in no way makes the injury better. A settlement however can make recovery easier, and it can take some of the strain and some worry off of your mind so that you can focus on getting better.
