By YD Legal | Posted on Apr 21, 2022

How to Calculate Pain and Suffering Damages in Ohio

It’s helpful to know how to calculate personal injury damages in Ohio, and certain damages can be calculated using bills, invoices, and documentation of wages. Those damages do not account for all the hurt people face after a personal injury. Many people may experience pain and suffering that is harder but not impossible to calculate. Certain factors can help you determine what pain and suffering damages you have faced.

What are Pain and Suffering?

Some damages are simpler to calculate. You can show medical bills and lost wages using straightforward calculations, yet not all damages are so simple to determine. Some damages are still significant but don’t have an exact dollar conversion. Pain and suffering can cover these damages that are subjective but quantifiable using various formulas that personal injury lawyers use.

Pain and suffering can refer to several damages. Some things included under pain and suffering include:

Aches and physical pain
Lowered quality of life
Reduced life expectancy
Being physically limited
Mental health issues
- Depression
- Anxiety
- Insomnia
- Eating issues
- Post-traumatic stress

To get pain and suffering damages, these issues must be caused by whatever has caused you personal injury.

Types of Cases that Can Cause Pain and Suffering

Many personal injury cases may cause some degree of pain and suffering. Personal injury that creates permanent changes to a person’s body or lifestyle tends to have a bigger impact, as do accidents that make a person feel that their life is in danger. Some common cases our law firm deals with include:

Types of Pain and Suffering

There is a long list of ways a personal injury can cause pain and suffering. Some of the most common examples of pain and suffering include:

Physical impairment, meaning that you are cannot perform daily functions that you used to do
Lessened quality of life, which relates to having permanent appointments, medications, or other cumbersome interventions needed to stay alive and functioning
Inconvenience, meaning that someone cannot attend work or personal obligations or social occasions because of factors like lost wages or medical expenses
Life becomes less enjoyable, and a person cannot do the activities that give them joy
Disfigurement, including burns, scars, or lost limbs
Physical pain, which usually occurs long after the accident and may never improve
Grief that is caused by losing a loved one in an accident
Depression, anxiety, and other mental health disorders that result from personal injury
Intimacy and sexual issues arising from the accident
A caregiver who can no longer give the care they used to, such as a parent or spouse
Humiliation or embarrassment can result in certain personal injury accidents and cause pain and suffering

There are other types of pain and suffering that you may face, but these are the predominant cases that people tend to face.

How Much Can I Get for Pain and Suffering?

It’s hard to say how much compensation you can get for your pain and suffering without knowing the factors of your case. The amount you get will depend on elements like the degree of pain and suffering and its longevity. If you want a better idea of how much you can get for your pain and suffering, it is best to consult a professional who has a good idea of what damages cases like yours tend to get. Ohio law places limitations on the total claims a person can get. The cap is at three times the economic damages or $250,000, depending on what is greater, and the maximum is $350,000. In cases with a catastrophic injury, there is no limit.

How is Pain and Suffering Calculated in Ohio?

Valuing pain and suffering in an Ohio personal injury claim can be challenging because it is more abstract than other calculations as other damages, but there are ways to document the pain and suffering that you have faced. Personal testimony, for example, can help you show how you have suffered. You can also rely on the testimony of people in your life who have witnessed changes in you. Additionally, mental health records can also highlight the ways your personal injury has caused you pain and suffering. To show that you have suffered, you want to highlight how your life has changed, and your ability to engage with the world has been altered by the accident. Average car accident settlement in Ohio

Sometimes, courts and insurers use a multiplier ranging from 1.5 to 5, and they will take the other damages and then multiply them by a number in that range to give an estimation of how much pain and suffering are worth. For example, paralysis might correlate to a higher multiplier because of how much continued pain and suffering it will cause. The multiplier may depend on factors such as:

How relationships are impacted by your injury
The degree that your injury influences how you perform everyday tasks
How long it will take you to recover
If an injury creates long-term damage or permanent damage

Certain parties also have software they use to estimate what a person should receive for pain and suffering. Others may also use a method that gives a certain rate for the estimated number of days it would take to recover. In Ohio, there is no specific formula that must be used, so it’s a very subjective process.

A Personal Injury Lawyer Can Help

While you can try to calculate pain and suffering on your own, it is best to find a lawyer who has the skill and experience needed for these determinations. Without legal assistance, many people underestimate their damages or otherwise misvalue their damages. Our law firm can give you guidance and help you determine how much your case is worth. With a consultation, we can ask whatever questions you may have and help you make sense of your case.

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