Pain and suffering are the legal term for emotional and mental injuries, along with the physical pain.
Methods used during the determination
Per Diem method: This calls for selection of a single figure that must be assigned to each day of the victim’s recovery. That figure should indicate the daily impact, in dollar terms, of the claimed injury. That selected number/figure must then be multiplied by the number of days that the victim spent recovering.
Multiplier method: In this case the selected figure must come from a small range (1-10), with a focus on 1-5. When a claimant has sustained a catastrophic injury, the insurer would probably agree to use a figure of 5 or more. On the other hand, if the claimant’s injury could be described as minor, then the 5 would be replaced with 1.5.
The selected number becomes one factor in a multiplication operation. The other factor is the total cost for all of the claimed medical expenses. The product from multiplication of those 2 factors gets plugged into a formula. That formula contains a slot for the product and a slot for the value of the lost income. Those must be added together.
Reliance on software in computer program: Here the software performs all of the necessary calculations. It even alters the value for the injury, in a way that agrees with the patient’s choice for a treating physician. The value gets lowered, if the patient has consulted with a chiropractor, instead of an MD.
How the victim/claimant could offer proof of pain and injury
1) Produce photographs of a reported injury: There might be a picture of a tear in the skin. There could be a picture of the victim wincing, while trying to walk on an injured foot or ankle. The patient could be taped with a video camera, while trying to pick up an object, before and after treatment for a back injury.
2) Offer what has been recorded in a journal: The ideal record would indicate the frequency of the various painful sensations, and the length of each sensation. A patient that would not find it hard to write down what has happened each day ought to volunteer to provide the personal injury lawyer in Waterdown with such a journal.
Some lawyers might hesitate to ask for the creation of a diary or journal. Some lawyers might think that a client should find it easy to state clearly the frequency with which painful sensations have interfered with his or her daily activities. Unfortunately, that is not always the case.
3) Provide statements from friends, neighbors and co-workers: Those should be people that knew the victim/claimant before the accident. Their statements should shed light on changes in the victim’s behavior.