What Counts as Pain And Suffering (Non-Economic Damages)
Non-economic damages are payments for harm that doesn’t result in direct financial losses but still impacts your way of life.
In a legal claim, you ask for financial compensation for losses that are the direct result of your car accident. The money you claim falls into three general categories. In Florida and other states, there are rules governing damage claims.
The three general types of damages in a personal injury claim are:
- Economic damages
- Non-economic damages
- Punitive damages
Economic damages are out-of-pocket expenses. You can think of these as losses you can back up with receipts, like medical bills, lost wages, or property damage.
Punitive damages are awarded when the person you are suing engaged in particularly bad conduct. According to Florida Statutes Section 768.72, you can only claim punitive damages if the person was guilty of intentional misconduct or gross negligence.
Non-economic damages in Florida[1] cover the real ways your car accident has changed your quality of life, but are hard to break down into dollars and cents. Non-economic damages include things like:
- Pain and suffering
- Mental anguish
- Loss of enjoyment
If you are suing because of the loss of a loved one, under Florida Statutes Section 768.21, your wrongful death claim might include damages for loss of companionship and protection.
When These Damages Are Typically Available in Florida
Non-economic damages are available in Florida when you pass a serious injury threshold.
Florida Statutes Section 627.737 says that claims for pain, suffering, mental anguish, and inconvenience after a car accident are only possible after harm like:
- Significant and permanent loss of an important bodily function
- Permanent injury
- Significant and permanent scarring or disfigurement
- Death
Sometimes it’s hard to tell how an injury might develop over time. In the case of permanent injury under this statute, the standard is medical probability.
If you experience pain and suffering after a car accident in Florida[2] , consider speaking with a car accident attorney. A lawyer can help you decide whether asking for non-economic damages is reasonable in your case.
What Affects the Value of a Claim?
In Florida, there’s no cap on non-economic damages in car accident claims.
There’s no hard-and-fast rule for how to calculate pain and suffering in Florida[3] , but there are some common methods, such as:
- Past cases: This method looks at other people who experienced a similar accident type and similar injuries to you. An attorney or insurance adjuster might recommend a similar amount of compensation for non-economic damages as those who have also gone through the settlement and claims process in Florida.
- Multiplier: This method multiplies the amount of economic damages by a number from 1 to 5 to estimate non-economic damages. The more severe the non-economic losses, the higher the multiplier.
Using the multiplier method, a person with economic damages of $200,000 and a multiplier of 2x would seek $400,000 in non-economic damages, for a total of $600,000.
Many factors go into calculating your compensation for pain and suffering. This is also known as valuation. Attorneys and insurance adjusters look at factors like:
- Severity: This assesses how severe the injury is and how likely it is to affect your life going forward.
- Duration: Legal claims consider how long you might have to live with the effects of the injury. Sometimes an individual’s age is taken into account. A young person with lifelong loss of function might get more compensation than an older person who has less time to live with the injury.
- Permanency: Courts also consider medical assessments of whether you will likely recover in whole or in part from the injury.
- Treatment: Your medical treatment protocol and its intensity are also important factors. Ongoing therapy and rehabilitation can have a greater impact on your overall life and, therefore, might impact your compensation for non-economic damages.
- Pre-existing conditions: A legal claim might consider whether prior medical conditions made the injury from the car accident worse. If so, you might receive less damages because the injury severity is not all from the car wreck.
Our car accident attorneys can help you assess what your claim might be worth. In our experience, no two motor vehicle claims are the same in Florida, so it’s best to discuss your individual situation with a lawyer.
Evidence That Supports Pain and Suffering
Your attorney must back up your legal claim for non-economic damages in Florida with solid evidence. Without evidence, an insurance adjuster or court can deny your claim or reduce the amount of compensation you receive.
Here’s a checklist of evidence you should gather to support your claim for pain and suffering:
- Medical records: These include doctor’s visits, emergency room records, specialist referrals, treatment plans, and a list of required medications.
- Physiotherapy and rehabilitation notes: Documentation from your physiotherapist or rehabilitative specialist can give evidence of how your treatment is progressing and the limitations you might still experience.
- Symptom journal: This is firsthand evidence of how your injury impacts your life day to day. It can guide how doctors choose to treat your injury and your prognosis for recovery.
- Work restrictions: Note new limitations on how often you can work and the type of work you can perform. Keep all emails from your employer. Try to take notes of any conversations you have with supervisors or management about your ability to work.
- Medical bills: Invoices for medical treatment provide further evidence of the care you have had to seek to get better from your injury. Bills can therefore support both economic and non-economic damage claims.
- Record of wages: Income records provide evidence of how your working life has changed since the injury, supporting your claim for non-economic damages.
Under Florida Statutes Section 627.737, a claim for pain and suffering damages without evidence can be dismissed.
It can feel overwhelming to have to deal with paperwork so soon after a devastating car accident, but an attorney can help guide you. Don’t hesitate to reach out to a Florida personal injury lawyer for advice.
Common Insurer Arguments and How to Protect Your Claim
Insurers challenge claims for non-economic damages to deny or reduce the amount of your claim. Gathering evidence is one way to fight back.
Here are some arguments insurers might make and how to respond:
- Lack of consistency: Insurers might say your description of your injury changes over time. You can help avoid this by not talking to an insurance company except with your lawyer or until you’ve gotten advice from an attorney.
- Lack of credibility: An adjuster might say you are not believable when you describe the impact of your injuries. This is a tactic, and you should not take it personally. Instead, keep your medical and therapy records to back up the details of your claim.
- Lack of causation: A personal injury claim rests on causation. This is a legal term that means the other driver’s actions were the direct cause of your injury. The defendant’s attorney might argue that you were at fault or that an intervening event broke the chain of causation, so they don’t have to pay.
- Lack of evidence: Even if the insurer says you are credible, they might deny the claim for pain and suffering damages because of a lack of evidence under the Florida statute. Keep as many records as you can of your injury and treatment.
Your attorney can help you navigate these conversations with the insurer so you can focus on your medical treatment and recovery.
What to Do After a Florida Car Accident
Your medical recovery is most important after a serious injury. Here are some other tips on what to do after a car accident in Florida:
- File a police report
- Take photos and videos of the accident scene
- Gather witness names and contact information
- Get medical attention
- Follow your medical care plan
- Avoid recorded statements without your lawyer
If there is no medical team at the accident site, go to your nearest emergency room as soon as possible.
How Partnering With a Florida Attorney Can Help You
Non-economic damages in Florida depend on many factors. Working with experienced, dedicated attorneys can help you assess your next legal steps.
Talk to a lawyer before you accept a settlement offer from an insurance company, especially if your injuries are serious. Contact us today for a free case evaluation.
FAQs
Here are some of the most common frequently asked questions about pain and suffering damages.
