If you’re suffering from injuries due to an accident that wasn’t your fault, you know that the cost of your incident extends far beyond the concrete financial bills. The pain and suffering that you endure after your accident, though lacking a price tag, are just as real. Thankfully, South Carolina law allows you to claim pain and suffering compensation for your physical discomfort and emotional distress. Understanding how pain and suffering are calculated can help you know what to expect and how to build a stronger case for injury.
What Counts as Pain and Suffering in South Carolina?
Under South Carolina law, pain and suffering fall under the non-economic losses category. Compensation for pain and suffering covers the physical and emotional harm that comes with an injury, but does not have a specific associated monetary cost. Broadly, noneconomic damages can include compensation for:
- Physical pain includes the immediate hurt from your injuries, ongoing pain, physical limitations, and any expected future suffering that doctors expect. This category can consist of constant back pain from a spinal injury, ongoing headaches from a concussion, or joint pain from broken bones.
- Mental anguish covers the psychological distress, anxiety, depression, and emotional trauma that often come with serious injuries. The psychological impact of accidents can force victims to deal with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), panic attacks, trouble sleeping, and fear of getting hurt again.
- Emotional trauma from accidents can force victims to withdraw from social activities, deal with mood changes, and lose the ability to enjoy pastimes and hobbies they once loved.
South Carolina also includes disfigurement, scarring, loss of consortium, physical impairment, and inconvenience among the intangible losses that deserve monetary compensation, even if they don’t appear as line items in a medical bill.
How Is Pain and Suffering Compensation Calculated?
South Carolina doesn’t use a one-size-fits-all formula for calculating pain and suffering damages – instead, insurance adjusters and attorneys typically use one of two main approaches to estimate these damages: the multiplier method and the per diem method.
The Multiplier Method
The most common way to calculate pain and suffering compensation, the multiplier method takes your total economic damages – including medical bills, lost wages, and property damage – and multiplies them by a number typically ranging from 1.5 to 5. The exact multiplier depends on several factors:
- The severity and permanence of your injuries
- Your projected recovery time
- The impact of your injuries on your daily life
- Your age
- Any anticipated complications
For example, if your economic damages total $50,000, with a pain and suffering multiplier of 3, you could collect an additional $150,000. Typically, the more serious the injury, the higher the multiplier.
The Per Diem Method
The per diem method assigns a daily dollar amount to your pain and suffering – usually calculated based on your daily wage or another related figure – then multiplies this rate by the number of days you experience suffering. For instance, if your daily rate is $200 and you suffer for 200 days, you could collect $40,000.
Proving Pain and Suffering in a Personal Injury Claim
Because pain and suffering are inherently subjective and lack an objective monetary value, you need concrete documentation and strategic evidence to demonstrate the extent of your suffering for the insurance adjustment agencies and the court.
Detailed medical evidence, such as emergency room reports, doctors’ notes, test results, prescription records, and physical therapy documentation, can prove the extent of your bodily injuries and their ongoing impact on your life.
If your accident caused anxiety, depression, PTSD, or other psychological conditions, mental health evaluations can strengthen your case significantly.
If you keep a pain journal, you can use it to provide a firsthand account of your pain levels, emotional state, sleep patterns, and suffering in the days and weeks after your incident.
Before-and-after photos that show physical changes to your bodily well-being, videos of any rehabilitation sessions, and images of medical equipment or changes to your living space can all help visualize your struggles.
Get Support in Seeking the Pain and Suffering Compensation You Deserve with Evans Moore, LLC
When you need to deal with, calculate, and prove your pain and suffering after an accident in South Carolina, experienced legal representation can make all the difference. Trust the personal injury lawyers in South Carolina at Evans Moore, LLC to build your best case and pursue the pain and suffering compensation you deserve. Since 2015, we have secured over $100 million in verdicts and settlements for clients throughout South Carolina.
Call our compassionate, seasoned legal team at (843) 995-5000 or fill out our online form for a free consultation. You deserve justice for your accident; contact us today to discuss your pain and suffering compensation case and learn how the firm can help you pursue the compensation you deserve.
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