Explaining a pain and suffering multiplier?
Many car accident victims in Pennsylvania are entitled to a settlement paid out by the other driver or their insurance company. When most people think about filing a claim, they’re looking for compensation for their vehicle damages and medical bills. However, a settlement doesn’t just cover the physical damage from the car accident. The victim might also receive compensation for their pain and emotional damages.
What is a pain and suffering multiplier?
Receiving compensation for their pain and suffering after an MVA can help the victim recover from this challenging time in their life. However, it can be hard to define “pain and suffering” in legal terms. Unlike physical injuries, there isn’t a set of tools to measure emotional pain.
To determine their client’s amount of emotional suffering, an MVA attorney might use a pain and suffering multiplier. They start by assessing the bills that their client has had to pay as a result of the injury. They use several factors to determine their client’s level of suffering and assign it a number between 1.5 and 5. This number is the pain and suffering multiplier. The attorney then multiplies their client’s bills by the multiplier to figure out a potential settlement.
To figure out the multiplier, the attorney might take the severity of their client’s injuries into consideration. If their client suffered from minor injuries, their multiplier might be closer to 1.5. If they’re suffering from severe injuries and permanent disability, their multiplier might be closer to 5. The attorney might also consider the amount of time that it took their client to recover. To back up their claims, they may collect medical documents that provide evidence of their client’s injuries.
How can you seek compensation after an accident?
Even a minor accident can be damaging to both your physical and emotional state. You might have to take time off work, start seeing a therapist and take medications that you’ve never tried before. While money won’t necessarily fix your emotional damages, it can make the recovery process a lot easier. An attorney could help you fight for a fair settlement.