There is no single way that attorneys and insurance companies calculate pain and suffering damages. However, two common approaches include the per diem method and the multiplier method.
In the per diem method, a daily rate is assigned to the pain and suffering and multiplied by the number of days you’re expected to experience it. That amount is added to the financial costs from the accident, such as medical bills and lost wages, when evaluating the potential value of your claim.
With the multiplier method, your financial costs from the crash, such as medical bills and lost wages, are added together. That figure is generally multiplied by a factor between 1.5 and 5 based on the severity of your injuries. Lower factors typically represent less serious injuries, while higher factors are reserved for severe or catastrophic injuries. The product of that multiplication is used to estimate the pain and suffering component of your claim.