A catastrophic injury can impact every aspect of your life. Aside from the physical injuries, an accident can cause mental and emotional damage that impacts your ability to work, parent, maintain relationships, enjoy hobbies, and experience positive feelings. Victim deserve to seek compensation for these intangible injuries to their lives. . That is why many states, including Georgia, allow victims of accidents to recover pain and suffering damages.
Pain and suffering damages can be recovered in Georgia by determining which damages were caused by your injury, quantifying them, and proving they exist. A portion of an insurance payment can compensate you for pain and suffering or these damages can be demanded in a lawsuit. If the lawsuit proceeds to a trial, the jury will decide what amount of pain and suffering compensation is warranted in your case.
Getting adequate financial compensation for pain and suffering following an accident is not an easy task. The Georgia personal injury lawyers at Howe Law are dedicated to fighting for every cent of the money you deserve. Call us at (844) 876-4357 for a free case review.
What is Pain and Suffering in Georgia?
Pain and suffering is a category of damages available per Georgia law and is designed to pay for the more intangible costs of a severe injury. Damages are typically categorized as either economic or non-economic. Economic damages are more easily quantifiable because they have a cost attached. Medical expenses and lost wages are examples of economic damages. Pain and suffering are non-economic damages representing a broad category of intangible harm caused by an injury.
There is a physical aspect of pain experienced in the body due to an injury, but there are also mental and emotional components. The accident that caused your injury may have instilled fear in your mind about the severity of the injury and whether you will fully recover. The injury may keep you from having healthy relationships with your family or friends. Your confidence in your career may suffer due to absenteeism or reduced productivity. Even daily activities can become painful and difficult depending on the extent of your injuries.
The examples mentioned can factor into a financial award for pain and suffering. Unfortunately, these harms are quite difficult to quantify. How can you assign a dollar amount to daily pain that prevents you from going to work? How do you quantify the cost of lost time spent with your children?
How Are Pain and Suffering Calculated in Georgia?
There are two methods commonly used to calculate the amount offered or awarded for pain and suffering, but ultimately the determination is very subjective. Whether you are asking for an insurance settlement or convincing a jury of your suffering, persuasion skills and tactics must be used to get the maximum compensation available. Our Atlanta personal injury attorneys have experience crafting arguments to fully convey the extent of an injury’s impact on your life.
Two mathematical methods are used to determine an appropriate amount for pain and suffering damages: the multiplier method and the per diem method. Multiplier Method The multiplier method takes the economic damages of the injury (like medical bills and lost wages) and multiplies that amount by a number attributable to pain and suffering. The multiplier can range anywhere from 1.5 to 5 and will increase based on the amount and severity of pain and suffering experienced.
Per Diem Method
The per diem method assigns a dollar amount to the pain and suffering experienced in a day and then multiplies that amount by the number of days you have endured the pain caused by the injury.
Limits on Pain and Suffering Damages
Georgia has no limit to the amount of pain and suffering damages that can be awarded, so the more you articulate what you experienced and how severe it was, the more compensation you may gain. However, these and other factors can affect the multiplier or the per day value of pain and suffering:
- Interference with daily activities, a job, or hobbies
- Interference with the enjoyment of life generally
- Shock, fear, or anger experienced
- Length of time physical pain was experienced
- Level of pain experienced
Reducing Pain & Suffering Damages
There is also a factor that can reduce damages in general, including the amount attributable to pain and suffering: comparative negligence. When an accident occurs, the party who caused the accident is typically responsible for damages, but sometimes the fault is shared by all involved. Georgia has a modified comparative negligence rule that allows damages to be decreased if the victim’s actions contributed to the accident, and bars recovery if the victim was at least 50% responsible.
For example, in a car accident, a victim’s excessive speed may contribute to the severity of a collision caused by another driver running a red light. While a significant amount of blame is on the driver who ran the red light, the crash could have been less severe if the victim had been driving at the posted speed limit. Since the victim contributed to the accident, their damages could be reduced based on that contribution.
How to Prove Pain and Suffering Damages in Georgia
When demanding payment for pain and suffering, the plaintiff has the burden of proof to show what they experienced. In settlement discussions, the victim will need to convince the insurance company that the amount requested is justified; in a trial, the victim will have to convince the jury.
Medical records showing symptoms of pain, evidence of pain medication administered, and testimony from doctors, therapists, family, friends, and employers are all examples of evidence that an attorney can produce to prove pain and suffering damages. Our Alpharetta personal injury attorneys have seen many examples of evidence that successfully proves pain and suffering, and we can advise on what is necessary for your case.
Call our Georgia Personal Injury Attorneys to Discuss Your Legal Options
After an accident, you deserve compensation for all the pain and suffering endured. Call (844) 876-4357 to receive a free case review with the Savannah personal injury lawyers at Howe Law.
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