How Much Do You Get For Pain And Suffering?
If you’re wondering how much do you get for pain and suffering in a personal injury settlement, you’re not alone. This is one of the most important concerns of all new personal injury clients. While pain and suffering can be difficult to estimate in a personal injury claim, There is a rather basic way to determine what you received for pain and suffering. This article will help to try to answer the question “How much do you get for pain and suffering?” If you’d like to speak with a personal injury lawyer about pain and suffering, you can call 704.749.7747 or click for a FREE PERSONAL INJURY CONSULTATION and we will reach out to you shortly.
What Is Pain And Suffering Worth?
Placing a value on pain and suffering is challenging. Most clients agree that there is no amount of money that would make them happy with the accident. In other words, what they really wish is that the car accident never happened. That being the case, the second best option is to receive an amount of money that you feel fairly compensates you for what you’ve been through. Unfortunately, at the time of settlement, most clients are still hurting from their car accident, or concerned about lingering pain and suffering they might experience after settlement.
For lack of a better way to calculate pain and suffering, in most cases, your pain and suffering will be some multiplier of the cost of your medical treatment. Your personal injury attorney will argue the total value of your treatment should be used in that equation, and the insurance adjuster will argue the actual end cost of the treatment should be used. This often results in very different proposed settlement amounts. Below, is an example:
Example 1:
Original Medical Bills: $100,000
Payments By Health Insurance: $8,000
Adjustments (write-offs): $92,000
End Balance: $0
In the above example, your personal injury attorney will argue that the medical billing being considered should be $100,000 because this is the amount of the bill. The insurance adjuster will argue the $8,000 paid by health insurance is the amount that should be used. Their explanation will be that the medical treatment, in the end, only cost $8,000. If the parties are multiplying the medical billing by 2, you can see that the end numbers will come out very differently.
How Will I Know What I Received For Pain And Suffering?
In the end, the amount of money remaining after all medical bills are paid, and after lost wages are reimbursed, represents your pain and suffering. Simply put, this is the amount of money above and beyond expenses, which you are receiving from the settlement. One thing you will notice in the demand package your personal injury attorney sends out, is that typically we do not ask for a specific amount for pain and suffering. Using our example above, whatever amount we ask for above and beyond your medical bills and lost wages usually represents our theory surrounding the value of the pain and suffering you’ve experienced. If you have Medical Payments coverage on your own policy, this could also dramatically change things in your favor.
What About Future Pain And Suffering?
Once you reach a settlement with an insurance company, that settlement is final. Therefore, you and your personal injury attorney should take into account the lingering effects of the car accident or slip and fall, when settling on your demand request. But don’t worry, your personal injury attorney will walk you through this step by step, and explain each part of the process along the way.
Speak With A Personal Injury Attorney Today
If you have questions remaining about “How much do you get for pain and suffering?” you should speak with a personal injury lawyer today. The call is free and you deserve answers. We would love to hear from you. You can call us at 704.749.7747 or click for a FREE PERSONAL INJURY CONSULTATION and we will reach out to you shortly. We know you have choices. We hope you choose to Recover With Us.