You may receive compensation for your damages if you are injured in an accident or other incident in Florida. Damages represent your losses and injuries caused by another party’s negligence, intentional torts, or other wrongful acts.
You can pursue economic damages for your monetary losses, such as loss of earning capacity, property damage, medical bills, and out-of-pocket expenses.
However, you may also receive non-economic damages, including compensation for pain and suffering. In this article, our Tampa personal injury lawyers discuss pain and suffering damages and how you can maximize your recovery.
What Are Pain and Suffering Damages in a Florida Personal Injury Case?
Several types of losses are included in pain and suffering damages, including:
- The physical discomfort caused by your injuries
- Psychological conditions, including anxiety, clinical depression, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
- Mental anguish and trauma
- Emotional distress
- Loss of enjoyment of life
Proving the extent of these damages can be difficult. They are subjective because no two people experience pain and suffering the same way. Unlike economic damages, you do not have tangible proof of your suffering.
However, there are things you can do to support your claim for pain and suffering. Begin a pain and suffering journal to document your recovery. Keep careful notes about your pain levels and activities your injuries prevent you from enjoying.
In your journal, include notes about your emotional state and how your injuries impact your relationships with family and friends. Taking photographs of your injuries throughout your recovery can help jurors visualize the extent of your suffering.
Your attorney may retain medical specialists, therapists, vocational specialists, and other experts to assist with your case. Expert witnesses can provide additional evidence and opinions to explain the extent of the pain and suffering your injuries have caused.
What Factors Can Impact the Value of Pain and Suffering Damages in Florida?
Your attorney will analyze various factors in your personal injury case to assess how much it is worth.
Factors that could impact the value of your non-economic damages include:
- The type of injuries you sustained
- The medical treatments required to treat your injuries
- The duration of your recovery period
- Whether you can care for your personal needs, such as bathing, dressing, and preparing your meals
- The extent of scarring and disfigurement caused by your injuries and how it affects your life
- Whether your injuries impact your ability to be intimate with your partner
- The extent of disabling conditions and impairments caused by your injuries
- Your level of fault for causing your injuries (i.e., comparative negligence)
- The impact your injuries have on your relationships with other people
- Whether you can return to your ordinary activities and work
Other factors in your case could be relevant to determining the value of your pain and suffering damages. Our Tampa personal injury attorneys will analyze each of the relevant factors to determine how they impact the value of your claim.
Generally, catastrophic injuries and permanent impairments increase the value of damages in a personal injury case. However, comparative fault could reduce the amount you receive. Experienced personal injury lawyers develop a strategy for maximizing damages.
What Methods Are Used To Calculate Pain and Suffering Damages?
Florida personal injury laws do not include a standard formula for calculating pain and suffering damages. Instead, jurors must decide how much to award. However, most personal injury cases are settled by negotiating an amount for damages.
The most common methods for putting a price on pain and suffering are the multiplier method and the per diem method.
The Per Diem Method for Calculating Pain and Suffering Damages
The per diem method assigns a daily value for pain and suffering damages. The daily value represents your level of suffering. We use the above factors to determine the per diem. As your pain and suffering increases, the per diem increases.
We’ll multiply the per diem by the number of days between the injury date and the date you reached maximum medical improvement (MMI). A person reaches maximum medical improvement when their doctor releases them from care. MMI may mean that you recovered fully from your injuries. It could also mean you have a permanent impairment, and your doctor believes your condition is unlikely to improve with continued medical treatment.
For example, suppose your per diem is $750, and it took 180 days to reach MMI. Your non-economic damages would equal $750 x 180 or $135,000.
The per diem method is generally used in cases with a definite recovery date where the victim healed completely from their injuries. This method is not as useful when a person sustains a permanent disability.
The Multiplier Method for Calculating Pain and Suffering Damages
The multiplier method uses the total of your economic damages as a factor in the value of your pain and suffering, and a multiplier is assigned based on the above factors. The multiplier is a number between 1.5 and five.
The more severe your injuries and losses, the higher the multiplier. For example, a victim who is paralyzed may have a multiplier of five. On the other hand, a person who sustains a minor injury that heals with minimal medical treatment may have a multiplier of 1.5 to two.
The value of non-economic damages is the multiplier times the amount of your economic damages. For example, suppose your economic damages total $750,000, and the multiplier is three. The value of your pain and suffering damages equals $750,000 x 3 or $2,250,000.
What Is the Deadline to File a Claim for Pain and Suffering Damages in Florida?
Your pain and suffering damages are part of your personal injury case. Therefore, the statute of limitations for filing a lawsuit is based on the type of claim you have.
Most personal injury lawsuits in Florida are based on negligence and have a two-year statute of limitations. The deadline for intentional torts and strict liability claims is generally four years.
Exceptions to the Florida statute of limitations could change the deadline in your case. Therefore, we urge you to seek legal advice as soon as possible to avoid missing a deadline.
A Florida Personal Injury Lawyer Can Help You Calculate Your Pain and Suffering Damages
Contact our office at (813) 430-3338 to schedule a free consultation with a Tampa personal injury lawyer. At Mincone Personal Injury Lawyers, we are here to help you recover a fair settlement or jury verdict for your damages.
