Originally Posted: September 17, 2021
The Short Answer
Non-economic damages for pain and suffering reimburse you for physical discomfort and emotional trauma related to your injury. Insurance adjusters, personal injury lawyers, and juries consider the severity and duration of your injuries and their impact on your life when calculating pain and suffering.
Key Takeaways
- Pain and suffering is a type of non-economic damages designed to reimburse you for physical pain, lengthy recovery times, and loss of enjoyment of life.
- If you’re wondering how to calculate pain and suffering, you’ll need evidence about the severity of the injury, the type and duration of treatment, and how it affects your daily activities.
- Pain and suffering is available for permanent injuries, including scars, disfigurement, or disability.
- Damages for pain and suffering caused by a physical injury are not subject to state or federal income tax.
- Insurance companies have their own methods for valuing pain and suffering. Consult an attorney before accepting a settlement offer.
Table of Contents
What Is Pain and Suffering?
Pain and suffering is a legal term that describes the physical discomfort and emotional distress that individuals experience after an unexpected injury or accident. Although these losses are subjective, damages for pain and suffering are common in nearly all personal injury cases, including lawsuits related to car and truck accidents, slip and falls, defective products, and dangerous drugs. Here are a few types of physical and emotional injuries that fall under the umbrella of pain and suffering.
- Physical Pain: Compensation is available for short-term and long-term injuries or disabilities related to the accident, such as nerve damage and chronic pain.
- Emotional Trauma: Severe injuries and traumatic accidents can cause anxiety, depression, isolation, nightmares, and mental health conditions like post-traumatic stress disorder.
How Is Pain and Suffering Calculated in Personal Injury Law?
Because each person and each accident is unique, and there’s no set formula to determine how much pain and suffering is worth. Each case must be assessed individually. Attorneys and insurance companies may consider the following factors when calculating pain and suffering.
- Severity: One of the first things the insurance company will look at is the severity of the injury. Whiplash and soft-tissue injuries are typically far less serious than broken bones, spinal cord injuries, or head injuries.
- Duration: Next, the insurance adjuster will consider the duration of the treatment and recovery time. The longer the recovery time, the more damages you may be able to collect.
- Treatment: The type of treatment can also affect how much you receive in pain and suffering. Injuries that require intensive treatment, such as surgery and skilled rehabilitation, may receive more compensation than those that require rest and physical therapy.
- Permanence: Permanent injuries and disabilities typically warrant larger settlements depending on their severity and effect.
- Lifestyle: If the injury affects your ability to enjoy life, such as preventing you from golfing, fishing, or exercising, you may be entitled to additional compensation.
- Disfigurement: Scars and disfiguring injuries are common in personal injury cases, including dog bites and car accidents. Insurance companies will consider the location and severity of the scar or injury.
How To Prove Pain and Suffering for Personal Injuries
Pain and suffering are subjective. No one knows exactly how your injuries feel except for you. Whether you’re working with a personal injury attorney or are negotiating an insurance settlement, it’s important to provide the right type of evidence to ensure that your claim is valued fairly. The following evidence can help you build a case.
- Medical records documenting the diagnosis and treatment
- Testimony from expert witnesses, including doctors and psychologists
- Personal journals detailing your daily activities and pain level
- Testimony from friends and family who can explain the injury’s impact
Is Pain and Suffering Taxable?
Under Indiana law and Internal Revenue Code Section 104(a)(2), damages related to personal injuries or illnesses are not taxed as income. Although pain and suffering is classified as non-economic damages because it’s subjective and does not have a fixed monetary value, it is still a type of compensatory damage related to the injury. Therefore, pain and suffering is exempt from state and federal income tax.
What To Consider Before Settling Your Case
It’s important to remember that insurance companies have their own methods for valuing pain and suffering. Unfortunately, their calculations may result in a far lower settlement than you deserve.
Should you receive a settlement offer, have an attorney review it. If you accept an offer before you are fully healed, you may be unable to sue for future losses, so it’s important to be sure that the offer is fair. Our team of Indiana personal injury lawyers at the Ken Nunn Law Office will be happy to review any settlement offers and give you advice on the best way to proceed.
If you’re making a claim for pain and suffering, you should go through the list above and decide how each factor applies to your claim. Provide related evidence to your lawyer to ensure that your injuries are valued fairly.
Get Help From the Ken Nunn Law Office
If you need a personal injury lawyer in Indiana, the Ken Nunn Law Office is here for you. Our office has collected over $1 billion for clients since 1968. You can rest assured that we will put our experience to work for you. We will fight for you every step of the way, from the negotiation table to the courtroom. We can explain how pain and suffering is calculated and help you find the value your case. All you have to do is contact us for a free case review to get started.
