Formula for Pain and Suffering

[franklen]

What is the name of your state? Pennsylvania

I see alot of questions about how much to ask for pain and suffering in a claim, and most of the responses I have read say something to the effect of "what is it worth to you?" which still leaves alot of doubt I think about what to ask for. I read on another car related site that a general formula would be to ask for 3X the amount of your medical bills when figuring in pain and suffering. So if you have $3000 in med bills, you would ask for $9000 total ($6000 being pain and suffering). Has anyone heard of this formula before, and if so/or not, does it make sense?

Also, when settling a claim in which one's own insurance has covered the medical bills (such as the no-fault laws in PA), should one still have to consider adding this amount to the claim if your own insurance company decides to try and get it back from you? Is this a relevant concern or would they just go after the other insurance company in such a situation (whatever that situation might be)?

Finally, in PA there is a 2 year statute of limitations to close this bodily injury claim. If one is still undergoing treatment at that time do you still have to close the claim? or can you wait until the treatment ends even if it is past 2 years, if not can you claim for future treatment/pain/suffering that can occur after the 2 year statute time limt?

Thanks for any and all comments. - franklen

 

[silbear]

looking for the same answer

new hampshire
i am looking for the answer to the same question for the formula for pain and suffering ,
is it the same in newhampshire,
the insurance company is telling me that my auto insurance and health insurance should pick up the bills for the accident,
so when i settlle do i need to add this amount to the settlement,
and do i need to reimburse both insurance companies.
they are also telling me that because of the minimal damage to my car
i should not be in so much pain, i have whiplash and muscle bruises.
i was stopped at a red light when i was rear ended, the car had hit my tow hitch dead on so there was not much damage to my car, her car has a perfect square where the tow hitch went through.
i have been in thearapy for 15 months. still have occasional pain.

 

[jpritchett81]

There's no "formula" on calculating pain and suffering. How they come up with the amount I'm not really sure. I do know that if you're hiring a P.I attorney most will take 1/3 (33%)of your settlement.


Like with my settlement my attorney took 33%, my med bills were 21% and I walked away with 46% of my settlement(roughly).

This is just an example.....just to advise you that p/s amounts differ from case to case.

 

[franklen]

jpritchett81, Not to be smart (I appreciate the time you took to respond to my post), but if your saying "How they come up with the amount I'm not really sure", then how do you know there isn't some formula? A general formula at least, I wouldn't expect a formula to be exact in each and every case. This seems like an instance of expertitis. Why shouldn't the layperson have the information they need to come up with a fair claim? In the very least there would be statistics such as the average amount per injury type and duration, and the averages per medical costs, right? Where would that info be available? Would my insurance company be able to give me that info if I contacted them?

This would help the smaller claims too, because everyone is not going to get an attorney for a 5K-10K claim if they are only going to get %50 or less (as in your case), and if they can do it on thier own, or at least try at first.

Silbear, I went for PT on my left shoulder (resulting from being hit by a car while on my bicycle and landing hard on the shoulder), but pain has returned. And if I am expected to keep up an at home training plan for the rest of my life? shouldn't one be compensated for that time and inconvenience? I guess I will call the therapist back and see if they meant for me to do these exercises forever and ever, exercises 30 min every other day that I didn't need to do before the accident.

 

[y007]

Silbear, I went for PT on my left shoulder (resulting from being hit by a car while on my bicycle and landing hard on the shoulder), but pain has returned. And if I am expected to keep up an at home training plan for the rest of my life? shouldn't one be compensated for that time and inconvenience? I guess I will call the therapist back and see if they meant for me to do these exercises forever and ever, exercises 30 min every other day that I didn't need to do before the accident.

This is exactly the same question I have. I feel that if I maintain the exercises given to me by the PT folks, I wouldn't have to many problems. I feel I should be compensated for what seems to me a type of permanent disability. Can anyone provide expert advice?

 

[ALawyer]

Read First!!!!

This question is answered by experts at http://injury.FreeAdvice.com - for example http://injury.freeadvice.com/injury_help.php/117_156_835.htm

 

[silbear]

need lawyer?

nh met with the insurance person yesterday
her idea of pain and suffering equals $550.00
and thats including my medical bills.
she said that because the damage to the vehicles is minor, i should not have taken so long to get better (not fully better either), and my medical bills should not have been so high. (around $9,000.). a simple whiplash injury should have been healed sooner. she is saying that a prior injury to my neck is what may be causing the problem.

 

[franklen]

Silbear, maybe someone else will be able to verify, clarify or otherwise, but I have read that when someone causes an accident and injury to you, they take on any aggravation of past injuries you may have had, because they are a part of your person at that time. (edit: there is a paragraph about this in the link ALawyer provided)

So if you had a previous neck injury, and the car accident aggravated it they are responsible for the additional damage. That may be the reason why in some cases a minor accident could be the cause of more pain and medical needs? Like I said I don't even remember where I read about this, but it might be worth more research on your part. If you find out more about this specificallylet us know.

In my case, I was riding a bicycle, and the damage to the bike was minor, but I was directly subjected to a hard fall, and trauma with the roadway to both my shoulder and a lesser extent my head (which my helmet absorbed most impact from). So I am thinking that my situation is different that the scenario you just described in determining the claim amount.

ALawyer, thanks for the link it was informative but still doesn't help those of us working to settle the claim direct with the insurance company and out of court. The last paragraph still holds some hope:

"All that being said, the amount of dollars awarded for pain and suffering are not just pulled out of a hat. There are some tools that insurance companies and lawyers may use to help them arrive at a figure or at least a range for the purpose of determining how much to “demand” from the other party or how much to ask a jury to award. There are reports of past jury verdicts in virtually all states that can be reviewed to determine if there is a case with similar circumstances and/or injuries and/or medical expenses."

How do I get my hands on those tools? Law library, insurance library (is there one?), other? ANy help with this greatly appreciated. Thanks -

 

[Meatcutter]

Pennsylvania

I currently work as a claims adjuster for an insurance company. I primarily handle PA injury claims resulting from auto accidents and Homeowner claims. In response to your questions regarding Pain and suffering I hope the following information helps.

First off, 3x medical bills is a fallacy. The arguement is one that most attorneys will tell you makes alot of sense. However break this down into an example. If you have a soft tissue back strain you might treat with an Emergency room after the accident for approximately $1,000. Then you might be referred to your PCP for approximately $500. Then you might treat with a chiropractor for 3-5 months for a total of $5,000. Your total medical bills at this point are now $6500 and your 3x medical bills formula equals $19,500 for pain and suffering. However a person with a broken collar bone and broken arm will visit the ER one time, for approximately $1500 in med bills and then may follow up with an orthopedic doctor for a cast, approx $500. Total medical bills equal $2000 and your formula of 3x medical bills equals $6,000 in pain and suffering. Obviously the person with fractures deserves a larger pain and suffering settlement then the soft tissue back injury. Contrary to prior opinion most insurance companies do not use any formula and evaluate each injury on a personal basis. A better way to look at pain and suffering is to think of any back strain sprain between $2500-10000 depending on the severity of injury. Fractures and herniations/bulges will be higher.

Secondly, Medical bills in PA are not subrogateable so your insurance company is not able to go after the other at-fault insurance company for the amount they paid to you. Your insurance company also shouldn't be coming back after you for your medical bills. PA requires that you have medical coverage on your auto policy and this coverage is no-fault so no matter who's at fault you use this coverage to pay your personal medical bills.

Finally, the two year statute in PA for bodily injury claims starts on the date of the accident. If you are not done treating at the 2 year time frame you need to settle your claim or file suit as after the 2 years are up you do not have a claim anymore.

Hope this helps, again this is freeadvice and not to be taken as fact.

 

[silbear]

nh - i meet with a lawyer today, when i mentioned the name of the insurance company, and how they do not want to take care of my bills,
he said get in line, thats how they work.
hopefully i can get my medical bills taking care of, and my out of pocket cost.
thanks for all your help

 

[franklen]

Meatcutter, thanks for the great example about Pain and Suffering, it really makes sense the way you put it. And for the general range for the back sprain injury example, it does help to have some clue.

One other question, I just read somewhere that no-fault states like PA don't award pain and suffering because of the no-fault designation, yet that doesn't seem to jive with what we have been talking about, and your experience. Could I have misinterpreted what I read somehow? Am I actually in the right to be able to claim pain and suffering with the other person's insurance?

thanks,