After being involved in a motorcycle accident, when someone else is responsible, you may be entitled to compensation for your damages. However, many motorcycle accident victims are unaware of the true value of their claims.
If you thought you could only receive compensation for out-of-pocket or economic damages, you may be pleasantly surprised to discover you are also entitled to compensation for other types of losses, commonly referred to as non-economic damages. Pain and suffering are one of the most common types of non-economic damages that may be available.
However, since non-economic damages and pain and suffering do not have a financial value, determining how much you should seek compensation for can prove more challenging than you might have thought. Your South Carolina motorcycle accident lawyer at Shelly Leeke Law Firm will carefully evaluate the various ways your life has been affected to determine which calculation strategy is most likely to result in the biggest payout.
What Are Pain and Suffering Damages After a Motorcycle Accident?
After a motorcycle accident, one of the most common ways victims’ lives are affected is by pain and suffering. We are not only talking about physical pain, but emotional distress and a wide variety of other economic and non-economic damages.
Pain and suffering is not a loss that has a set financial value. In fact, it is entirely subjective, which means the impact on your life could be dramatically different than the impact pain and suffering has on another motorcycle accident victim.
For this reason, it is crucial that your motorcycle accident attorney be as thorough as possible when determining the value of your pain and suffering damages. Even though they do not have a set financial value, their impact on your life will likely be significant, which means it is crucial to protect your right to compensation and be prepared to prove the value of your damages.
How to Calculate Pain and Suffering
There are several ways in which your motorcycle accident lawyer can calculate the value of your catastrophic injuries, pain and suffering, and non-economic damages.
Usually, personal injury lawyers will use multiple calculation methods to ensure they are accurately calculating the value of your losses. The two primary methods used to determine how much pain and suffering is worth include the multiplier method and the per diem method.
The Multiplier Method
The multiplier method is one of the most common ways to calculate the value of non-economic and pain and suffering damages. Here, your lawyer will first need to determine the value of your compensatory and economic damages. These losses have set financial values and are easier to quantify.
Then, your pain and suffering damages will be given a multiplier. This is usually a number from 1 to 5. The greater the number, the more severe the injuries are and the greater the impact your injuries have had or are expected to have on your life.
Let’s look at an example. If you had a total of $200,000 in economic damages and your attorney assigned you a multiplier of four, they would multiply 200,000 by 4 to get the value of your pain and suffering damages, which would be $800,000. This means the amount of compensation you would receive for your pain and suffering damages would be $800,000.
The Per Diem Method
The per diem method is another way your attorney might go about calculating the value of your non-economic and pain and suffering damages. Here, instead of being assigned a multiplier, your pain and suffering damages would be assigned a daily value. Then, your motorcycle accident lawyer would calculate the number of days you have expected in our expected to continue to be affected by your pain and suffering.
The per diem rate will be based on a variety of factors, including the impact your injuries and the accident have had on your life, the type and severity of the injuries you sustained, and the other more specific details associated with your case.
Let’s look at an example. If you were assigned a per diem rate of $300 for your pain and suffering, and your motorcycle accident lawyer determines that you have experienced and will continue to experience pain and suffering for a total of 1,000 days, they would use the per diem method to multiply $300 by 1,000 days to get a total value of $300,000. This means your pain and suffering damages would be valued at $300,000.
Factors Impacting the Value of Your Motorcycle Accident Damages
It is important to consider the factors that will influence the amount you can be awarded for your motorcycle accident damages. Although every person’s case is different, these factors will almost always determine whether you should be awarded fair compensation for your damages and if your settlement may be subject to a reduction.
Shared Liability
If you are partially responsible for causing the accident, your settlement may be reduced according to South Carolina’s modified comparative negligence laws under South Carolina Code §15-38-50. If your portion of the fault is greater than the threshold of 51%, you may have your right to pursue your case at trial taken away.
Insurance Coverage
South Carolina follows fault insurance laws, so when you are involved in a collision, you file a claim with the liable party’s insurance provider. However, if the liable party does not have enough insurance coverage or was uninsured at the time of the accident, it could have an impact on how much compensation you recover.
Reach Out to a Motorcycle Accident Lawyer in South Carolina for Help Today
The value of your pain and suffering damages after a motorcycle accident should be taken into consideration accordingly when calculating the value of your claim. You have the right to be made whole, and your pain and suffering damages should be included when determining the amount of compensation you should be awarded.
Your South Carolina motorcycle accident attorney at Shelly Leeke Law Firm has the training and experience to ensure you receive fair reimbursement for these losses. Learn more about how much your pain and suffering damages could be worse when you contact our team for a no-cost, risk-free consultation. Schedule yours as soon as today when you fill out our secured contact form or call our office to get started.
