When you’re injured in an accident, Colorado law allows you to pursue two primary types of compensation: economic and non-economic. Economic damages cover measurable financial losses like medical bills and lost wages.
Non-economic damages, also known as “pain and suffering” damages, compensate for physical pain and emotional impacts of an accident. Pain and suffering damages are designed to account for the physical discomfort, mental anguish, and diminished quality of life that often follow an accident.
Because there’s no simple way to attach a dollar value to physical pain or emotional hardship, insurance companies and attorneys use specific calculation methods to estimate the value of pain and suffering damages. The two most common are the Multiplier Method and the Per Diem Method.
Multiplier Method
The Multiplier Method is one of the most widely used formulas for calculating pain and suffering. Here’s how it works. First, a court or insurance company will add up your economic damages, which include medical expenses, lost income, and other direct financial losses.
Next, a multiplier is selected. These typically range from 1.5 to 5, depending on the severity and long-term impact of your injuries. Your economic damages are then multiplied by this number to determine the pain and suffering portion of your claim.
For example, if your medical bills and lost wages add up to $20,000, and your injuries are considered moderately serious, a multiplier of 2 might be applied. This results in $40,000 in pain and suffering damages, bringing the total value of your claim to $60,000.
The more severe, life-altering, or permanent your injuries, the higher the multiplier is likely to be. This method helps capture the overall impact of the injury on your daily life.
Calculating Pain and Suffering Damages
Per Diem Method
The Per Diem Method assigns a daily dollar amount for each day you experience pain and suffering due to the accident. That daily rate is often based on your typical earnings or a reasonable estimate of daily hardship.
For example, if your doctor determines it will take 200 days to recover fully, and your daily rate is $150, your pain and suffering would be calculated as $30,000. This amount is then added to your economic damages.
The Per Diem Method works well for cases with a clearly defined recovery period and provides a simple, day-by-day approach to estimating non-economic losses.
Which Method is Best?
There’s no one-size-fits-all rule for calculating pain and suffering. The method used depends on the facts of your case, the extent of your injuries, and how they affect your daily life.
Some cases involving long-term or permanent injuries are better suited to the Multiplier Method. Cases featuring shorter recovery periods may be better suited to the Per Diem Method.
Contact a Lawyer for Help Seeking Damages for Your Pain and Suffering
Calculating pain and suffering damages isn’t always straightforward. To make matters more complicated, insurance companies often downplay or undervalue these losses. Having an experienced Greenwood Village personal injury attorney on your side is crucial to ensure your claim reflects the full impact of your injuries.
At Legal Help in Colorado, we know how to build strong claims and seek compensation that truly reflects the pain and suffering you’ve experienced due to an accident. Contact us today for a free consultation to learn how we can help.