
If you have been injured in an accident in Kentucky, you may hear the term “pain and suffering damages” while exploring your legal options. These damages are intended to compensate for the emotional and physical toll the injury has taken on your life. But how are they calculated, and what factors can affect the amount you might recover? Our Lexington personal injury attorneys explain what you need to know.
What Are Pain and Suffering Damages?

There are two main types of compensation you can recover in a personal injury case. Economic damages refer to losses with a clear financial value, like your medical bills and lost wages. Non-economic damages are your very personal and subjective losses, like pain and suffering.
Pain and suffering can include:
- The physical pain of your injuries: This includes pain during recovery, treatment, rehabilitation, and any chronic pain you will face.
- Emotional and mental anguish, trauma, and distress: This refers to the fear, worry, embarrassment, hopelessness, isolation, and other effects of your injury.
- Psychological disorders: This may include PTSD, depression, anxiety, and phobias.
- Reduced quality of life: This considers the impact of being unable to enjoy activities, hobbies, and independence you used to enjoy.
Almost any personal injury victim may be eligible for pain and suffering damages. However, note that there is a special rule if you were hurt in a Kentucky car accident or other traffic accident. Unless you waived no-fault insurance coverage, you must file a claim for PIP benefits through your own policy.
Personal Injury Protection (PIP) covers medical bills, lost earnings, and certain other economic damages up to a limit. It does not cover non-financial losses like physical pain and emotional suffering.
You can file a claim against the at-fault driver only if you meet the injury threshold. You must have incurred medical expenses of more than $1,000 or suffered a bone fracture or permanent injury to qualify. In this case, you can recover money for non-economic damages. In these types of cases, a Lexington car accident attorney can effectively guide you, don’t hesitate to contact us today.
How Are Pain and Suffering Damages Calculated?
There’s no universal formula or pain and suffering calculator that can determine the value of your trauma and pain.
There are two common methods used to calculate these damages, but keep in mind that they are intended as a starting point for negotiations. In some cases, neither method is appropriate. A good example is a dog bite case involving a child. Dog bites can result in permanent facial disfigurement despite relatively low financial damages.
1. The Multiplier Method
The multiplier method is one of the most widely used approaches to calculating pain and suffering damages.
Here’s how it works:
- Your total economic damages are calculated.
- A factor of 1.5 to 5 is chosen based on the severity and type of injuries and other factors.
- Your total economic losses are multiplied by the selected factor to estimate pain and suffering damages.
For example, if you suffered $75,000 in financial losses and a factor of 2.5 is chosen based on your injuries, your pain and suffering would be estimated at $187,500.
2. The Per Diem Method
This method is usually reserved for injuries that are not very serious or have a clear recovery period. It involves assigning a dollar figure to every day you endured pain, suffering, and anguish.
For instance, if a daily value of $250 is determined and it takes 100 days for you to reach maximum medical improvement (MMI), your pain and suffering damages would be $25,000.
Factors That Can Affect the Value of Pain and Suffering Damages
The value of your pain and suffering damages depends on several key factors.
The Severity of Your Injuries
The more severe your injury, the higher your pain and suffering is likely to be worth. As a general rule, catastrophic injuries like spinal cord injuries and severe brain injuries are worth more than injuries from which you can mostly or completely recover.
Impact on Your Daily Life
Courts and insurance adjusters will evaluate how the injury affects your ability to work, care for yourself, and enjoy life. Are you unable to drive or hold your child? Do you struggle to get up the stairs in your home? Are you unable to perform daily tasks of living like dressing yourself?
Loss of mobility, independence, or mental well-being can significantly increase the award. It’s important to document the many ways your life is affected by your injury. You can do this through a daily journal, photos, and testimony from family, friends, and coworkers.
Recovery Duration
The length of your recovery will play a major role in the value of your pain and suffering. Damages are typically highest for injuries that cause long-term or permanent disability, pain, or distress. Injuries that require a long or painful recovery, physical therapy, and rehabilitation are usually valued higher than injuries that heal on their own or do not last long.
The Strength of Your Evidence
A successful personal injury claim requires proving the other party’s liability — or legal responsibility for your damages. The stronger your evidence proving their negligence or intentional actions, the more likely you are to recover the full value of your suffering.
You will also need evidence illustrating the effects of your injury to recover non-economic damages. Medical records, therapy notes, and daily journal entries can help demonstrate the extent of your suffering. Your case may also benefit from expert testimony.
Medical experts can testify about:
- Your prognosis
- How your injuries were treated
- Limitations you face
- Future medical care you will need
Family and friends may also testify about the impact of your injury on your life.
Your Age
While it may not seem fair, your age may play a role in the amount of compensation you are awarded. Children and younger adults usually receive more compensation than older adults for similar injuries. This is because life expectancy and the length of time the victim will likely be subjected to suffering, anguish, and pain are considered.
For example, consider how two plaintiffs may be treated if they both suffered a serious hip fracture in a fall. One is an athletic person in their 20s and the other is a senior in their 80s hurt in a nursing home fall.
The young adult is likely to be awarded more for their pain and anguish than the older person.
The younger adult may no longer be able to participate in hobbies and sports. They have a high risk of post-traumatic arthritis, which can reduce mobility and cause chronic pain. They may deal with the effects of the fracture for decades with a life expectancy of more than 55 years.
Even though the older adult will likely never walk again, they were already in poor health. Even if they live to 100 years old, that’s a fraction of the time the young adult will live with the effects of the injury.
Comparative Negligence
If you share some fault for the accident, your settlement may be reduced. In Kentucky, a pure comparative negligence rule is used to assign blame to all parties involved in a personal injury case.
If you had no fault in your accident, you are entitled to 100% of your damages. If you and the defendant were equally responsible, you are entitled to half of your damages. If you were 90% to blame for your accident, you can only recover 10% of your damages.
Other Factors That May Affect Your Case
There may be other factors that influence what you can recover. For example, if you have a pre-existing condition, it may reduce the compensation you are awarded for your suffering and pain. A jury may believe that the impact of the injury is lower for someone who already has chronic pain or mobility issues than for someone who was healthy before the accident.
If your case goes to court, the credibility and perception of the plaintiff and defendant can also play a role. A jury is more likely to be sympathetic to an injury victim if the defendant appears reckless, unbelievable, or like they are trying to avoid responsibility.
Insurance coverage may limit what you can recover, no matter what a jury awards. The at-fault party’s insurance policy will only pay up to the policy limit, and they may not have sufficient assets to pay the remaining amount.
Our Lexington Personal Injury Attorneys Can Help You Calculate Your Pain and Suffering Damages and Other Losses
Understanding how pain and suffering damages are calculated is essential for anyone pursuing a personal injury claim. You deserve to be made whole after a serious injury caused by someone else’s carelessness. An experienced personal injury lawyer can help you understand what your case may be worth and pursue the full value of your losses.
Ross Mann Personal Injury Lawyers is here to help you. Contact our law office at (859) 413-3900 to schedule a free consultation with a Lexington personal injury lawyer. We will listen to your story and help you take the next steps in pursuing the compensation you are counting on.