The courts in Texas don’t provide specific guidelines for calculating pain and suffering, so you must be sure to partner with a highly experienced personal injury attorney.
They can use appropriate methods and research to verify your claim’s full value, including the non-economic losses. There are two main approaches used in Texas:
Multiplier Method
This method takes the value of your economic damages and multiplies it by a factor of between 1.5 and 5 to represent your pain and suffering.
Various elements of your case will determine the multiplication factor, such as your age, health prior to the injury, the severity of your injuries, and your expected recovery level.
If you are young and suffer a broken leg, you are likely to recover quickly and suffer little impact on your life later on. Your multiplier might be 1.5 or 2.
However, if you are older with arthritis and use a cane when you suffer a broken leg, you may never fully recover and have greatly reduced mobility. Because a broken bone is more likely to affect your physical and emotional health, your multiplier could be 3 or 4.
Per Diem Method
The per diem method assigns a daily value to your pain and suffering, and your attorney multiplies that value by the number of days you need to recover. Your total number of days ends when you reach maximum medical improvement (MMI), which is the level at which you will not get any better.
So, if the per diem is $300 and you reach MMI after 100 days, your pain and suffering would equal $30,000.
If you have more questions about pain and suffering, or a potential personal injury lawsuit, contact us today to schedule a Free Consultation. There is no obligation to get your case evaluated.
