After a motorcycle accident, it’s essential to understand the value of your injury claim. The party at-fault for causing your accident will be liable for all costs relating to medical treatment, lost wages, and property damage, but what about the months or years that you’ve lost while recovering from your injuries? While you can be compensated for any monetary loss you’ve had to pay due to your injuries, it’s not as easy to put a value on losing your ability to pick up your child because of pain caused by the accident.
Calculating pain and suffering is not so simple as calculating property damage. To secure the full value of your pain and suffering experienced from your motorcycle accident, it’s essential that you have an experienced and knowledgeable motorcycle accident attorney on your side. Attorney Frank P. Marsalisi of Marsalisi Law is dedicated to motorcycle accident victims in St. Petersburg to ensure they receive just compensation so they can get their lives back on track. In this blog, we discuss all you should know for calculating pain and suffering in a motorcycle accident claim in Florida.
What is Pain and Suffering in a Motorcycle Accident Claim?
“Pain and suffering” is the legal term used to describe the emotional and physical trauma inflicted on a person after an injury. Pain and suffering may manifest through emotional pain, like insomnia, anxiety, and fear, or may result in physical pain like aches and soreness.
In a personal injury claim, “pain and suffering” falls under non-economic damages because the values aren’t straightforward to calculate like those of economic damages – i.e., a hospital bill.
How is Pain and Suffering Proven in Florida?
Proving the full extent of pain and suffering in a motorcycle accident claim can be challenging and require extensive investigation. To receive just and favorable compensation, it’s critical that you have the assistance of a personal injury attorney with experience litigating motorcycle accident cases. Your attorney will use a variety of documents and evidence to prove the extent of your pain and suffering, including:
- Medical records;
- Photographs;
- Expert witness testimonies;
- Day in the life videos;
- Psychological evaluations.
Your attorney will need to demonstrate the difference that your lifestyle will now require because of your injuries inflicted from the accident. Conducting this investigation and collecting the necessary evidence is a detailed process that is difficult for injured victims to perform alone. To secure the full and fair value of your pain and suffering, you must have a dedicated and experienced attorney who understands Florida’s complex personal injury laws on your side.
How is Pain and Suffering Valued in a Motorcycle Accident Claim?
Damages for pain and suffering are considered non-economic damages. There is not a straightforward method of measuring the value. Florida Standard Jury Instruction 501.2 explains this, stating:
“There is no exact standard for measuring such damage. The amount should be fair and just in the light of the evidence.”
Each motorcycle accident case is unique with a variety of details that must be considered on a case by case basis to determine pain and suffering value. Generally, in personal injury cases, Florida courts will consider:
- The injured plaintiff’s age;
- The plaintiff’s overall health and pre-existing conditions;
- The severity and extent of each injury;
- The ongoing and long-term implications of the injuries;
- The direct and indirect costs of the injuries over the plaintiff’s lifetime.
Florida courts will consider these aspects along with the evidence presented to begin placing a value on pain and suffering in a motorcycle accident claim.
The Multiplier Method
A common way to establish the value of the pain and suffering in a motorcycle accident injury claim is applying the “multiplier method.” This method involves totaling the full value of economic damages that include lost wages, medical bills, and property damage, then multiplying that total by a number between one to five, depending on the severity of the injuries.
For example, if a motorcycle accident victim suffered permanent disability from an injury and lost $25,000.00 in medical bills, an attorney could argue that the value of pain and suffering should be multiplied by five, with a total value of $125,000.00 in pain and suffering damages.
Per Diem Method
Another way to establish the value of pain and suffering is with a “per diem” method or a per day method. This involves assigning a dollar amount for every day that you live in pain. This dollar amount can be arbitrary or based on the daily cost of medication you must take.
Dedicated Motorcycle Accident Attorney in St. Petersburg, FL
Calculating pain and suffering in a motorcycle accident injury claim is a complicated process that requires extensive knowledge and experience to maximize the full value. At Marsalisi Law, Frank P. Marsalisi is dedicated to securing full and just compensation for each of his clients after suffering in an accident.
If you’ve been injured in a motorcycle accident in St. Petersburg, contact Marsalisi Law to speak with Frank and learn more about what your injury claim is worth. Schedule your free consultation today by completing an online contact form or call our office at (727) 800-5052.
Marsalisi Law is Where Law Gets Personal!
