Pain and Suffering Damages In an Oklahoma City Personal Injury Case
Serious injuries come with serious consequences to the victim. Whether the consequences are mild, like a recoverable broken leg, a large emergency room bill, and a single missed paycheck, or catastrophic with lifelong impacts such as disability, dismemberment, or disfigurement, the injury victim deserves compensation for these consequences—known as their “damages” in a personal injury claim. Some damages are tangible and easy to calculate by adding up medical expenses and lost wages. These are the injury victim’s economic damages. Other consequences are intangible or non-economic damages that are more difficult to quantify by assigning them a monetary amount. Still, the non-economic damages like pain and suffering are often the worst aspect of a serious injury and deserving of compensation. Speak with an Oklahoma City injury lawyer for guidance when it comes to pain and suffering damages.
What Is “Pain and Suffering” Compensation in a Personal Injury Case in Oklahoma City?
The term “pain and suffering” covers the physical pain and emotional suffering caused by an injury during the insurance claim process for compensation or in court during a lawsuit. Because these are intangible damages, attorneys rely on formulas to calculate appropriate amounts. Popular formulas include the multiplier method which uses the injury victim’s total medical expenses and multiplies it by the victim’s pain level number between one and ten. Another method is the Per-Diem method which assigns a dollar amount per day based on the victim’s pain level and a medical professional’s opinion on how many days it should take for the injury victim to reach the maximum medical improvement level for their injury.
In the end, insurance companies, jurors, and judges have considerable discretion in increasing or reducing the amount of compensation they deem appropriate for an injury victim’s pain and suffering. In addition, Oklahoma places a cap on non-economic damages so in most cases, an injury victim cannot recover more than $350,000 for pain and suffering. The cap may be lifted in certain circumstances, such as for the permanent loss of one of the senses, loss of a limb, loss of organ function, or for permanent disfigurement.
What Other Non-Economic Damages Apply in Personal Injury Cases in Oklahoma?
Pain and suffering are not the only types of intangible non-economic damage experienced by injury victims. In many cases, other damages occur to victims, such as diminished life quality due to disability, loss of enjoyment of life, traumatic limb loss, disfigurement, or PTSD. In wrongful death cases, emotional grief and anguish are non-economic damages often claimed for compensation.
Although financial compensation cannot erase non-economic damages, it is the civil court’s only way of offering redress and justice through financial accountability on the part of a defendant who committed a careless, reckless, or intentionally wrongful action. It often substantially increases the compensation available, relieves financial burdens, opens doors to the best medical care, and provides a sense of justice to the injury victim.
How Can an Oklahoma City Personal Injury Attorney Help?
Insurance companies commonly dispute non-economic damages like pain and suffering or offer lowball settlements. An experienced attorney gets to know the injury victim and witnesses the impacts of the injury on their life and family, making them able to put forward a compelling case for compensation. Contact Dan Davis Law today so we can take action on your behalf to recover the most compensation possible in your unique personal injury case.