Pain and Suffering Settlement Examples

Posted on June 2, 2023

According to insurance data, the average payout across the U.S. for a pain and suffering settlement in a personal injury case is approximately $15,000.

Examples of pain and suffering include:

1. depression and anxiety
2. grief and anger
3. loss of enjoyment/qualify of life
4. physical pain
5. disfigurement or impairment

Meanwhile, examples of damages that are not pain and suffering are:

1. medical bills
2. lost wages
3. lost earning capacity
4. property damage
5. legal costs

1. What are pain and suffering damages?

Most jurisdictions say that “pain and suffering” is the compensation parties can receive in certain personal injury lawsuits for the

• physical pain and
• mental anguish that they suffer because of an injury.¹

Pain and suffering is a type of compensatory damage (in particular, a type of non-economic damage) that a claimant may recover in a personal injury claim or lawsuit.

The specific amount of a pain and suffering award that an accident victim can receive will typically depend on a variety of factors.

Some of these include:

• the type of accident involved,
• the type of injury,
• the severity of your injuries and the amount of pain,
• the impact the injury has on an injured person’s job and relationships with family members and loved ones,
• the length of time it takes for injury victims to heal, and
• the types of medical treatment needed.²

Note that there is no one set standard that a judge or jury will use to help calculate pain and suffering awards. Plaintiffs often show evidence of physical pain and emotional trauma, and a judge or jury then decides on a reasonable monetary value for these damages.

Example: John suffers a broken arm and whiplash in an auto accident where another driver is clearly at fault. John pays approximately $5,000 in medical expenses and incurs damage to his auto.

John experiences some pain from his injuries and they require a standard amount of medical treatment. Further, John experiences very little disruption in his home life because of the accident, but his injuries prevent him from performing certain daily and recreational activities.

Here, if the at fault party fought liability, a judge would likely rule in John’s favor. In addition, in presenting the above evidence at trial, the judge would probably award John with a rather moderate pain and suffering award, likely in the area of $1,000 – $2,000.

2. What is the multiplier method?

A “multiplier method” refers to one common tool that parties use to help calculate pain and suffering settlement amounts.

Under this method, an injury victim adds together all the economic damages involved in a case. The party then multiplies that figure by a certain number (typically between 1 and 5, with 3 being the number most commonly used).

The specific multiplier used will depend on the severity of a person’s injury. While people will use a low multiplier (like 1 or 2) in cases with light injuries, a party will use a higher multiplier (like 4 or 5) in cases with severe injuries.

Example: Jenny suffers a lower back injury in a slip and fall case. She incurs $10,000 in medical bills and medical expenses and loses five weeks of work at $1,000 per week (for a total lost wages amount of $5,000). Jenny’s total economic losses total $15,000.

As a result of the injury, Jenny experiences some minor inconveniences with caring for her family, but she is drastically limited in terms of performing her exercise routines and she has great difficulty in sleeping.

Jenny’s lawyer assigns a multiplier of 2 to her case for a total pain and suffering settlement value of $30,000 (2 X $15,000).

An adjuster eventually settles Jenny’s insurance claim for $25,000.

3. What is the per diem method?

The per diem method is another tool that parties use to help calculate pain and suffering settlement amounts.

Under this method, parties try to calculate a settlement offer by assigning a specific amount of money for each day the accident victim experiences pain and suffering because of the accident.

This daily rate is often calculated by using the injured victim’s daily earnings prior to the accident.

Example: Mary suffered a mild brain injury in a bus-related accident. She earned $500 per day prior to her injury and experiences pain and suffering for 30 days.

Given the above figures, Mary uses the pier diem method to demand $15,000 in pain and suffering damages ($500 x 30).

4. Do some states place caps on a victim’s pain and suffering awards?

Yes. Certain states do place caps on the amount of money an injury victim may recover in a pain and suffering award.

For example, under Colorado law, non-economic damages (including pain and suffering damages) cannot exceed $468,000. But a court does have the discretion to increase this amount to a maximum of $936,030 upon clear and convincing evidence.³

Further, Idaho law caps non-economic damages at $250,000, but the cap is subject to increase or decrease in accordance with the average annual wage.⁴ And, as a continued example, Mississippi law currently has a $1 million cap on noneconomic damages for all civil actions except medical malpractice actions, which caps non-economic damages at $500,000.⁵

Note that California law imposes no caps on a party’s compensatory damages.⁶

If you suffered an injury in a personal injury accident, it is important you consult with an injury attorney for help. Personal injury lawyers can help you determine if damage caps apply to your case and can help you calculate how much compensation you may recover for pain and suffering.

Keep in mind that most injury attorneys/law firms provide free consultations. This means you can get all of your legal questions answered without spending a dime.

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