After being involved in an accident, you may suffer more than physical injuries. The injuries cost you economically and non-economically. When pursuing compensation, you can sue for both economic and non-economic damages. While economic damages are straightforward to determine, it takes much more work to calculate non-economic damages like pain and suffering.

An experienced lawyer from our North Carolina personal injury law firm can look into your case and help you determine how much you should receive in compensation for your pain and suffering. The court system has a way of figuring out how much your pain and suffering are worth to compensate you for the loss of comfort you must endure after an accident.

What Are Pain and Suffering Damages?

Economic damages like medical bills and lost wages don’t tell the whole story about the impact of the catastrophic injuries you sustain in a collision, crash, or slip-and-fall accident on your life. It’s challenging to summarize most consequences in a medical bill or an off-work note.

The pain and suffering that many people experience after an accident, in addition to the physical injuries, include:

• Distress 
• Mental and emotional anguish 
• Anxiety 
• Anger 
• Physical discomfort 
• Mood swings and sleep disturbances 
• Loss of enjoyment of life 
• Headaches and nerve damage 
• Loss of consortium 

Pain and suffering are general damages that don’t have a price tag. They account for the intangible harm you experience and endure after an accident. Applying a monetary figure to the damages can be complex, so it’s advisable to hire a skilled personal injury attorney in Charlotte to help you calculate an amount that reflects your pain and suffering. 

What Factors Do Courts Consider in Calculating Pain and Suffering?

Juries in North Carolina rely on the following when calculating damages for pain and suffering in personal injury cases:

• The severity of the injuries: Pain and suffering damages are calculated based on the severity of the injuries. The more severe the injuries, the higher the compensation amount is likely to be. 
• The extent of damage to your daily life: If the accident leaves you with a disability, lowers your mobility, or reduces your capability to take care of yourself or your family, the injuries can be considered severe. Such can earn you more significant compensation than if you fully recover from the injuries. 
• Type of medical treatment you receive: The treatment you receive can help your lawyer calculate the compensation amount you deserve. Treatment falls into diagnostic and therapeutic treatments. The duration and recovery process can help your lawyer determine an estimated settlement amount for your pain and suffering. 
• Mental distress resulting from the injuries: Any accident can create anxiety and several significant mental health issues. 

What Are the Methods for Calculating Pain and Suffering?

Insurance companies in NC use two methods to calculate compensation amounts for pain and suffering. The methods are as follows:

Multiplier Method

The multiplier method entails summing up all economic damages and multiplying them by a multiplier that falls between 1.5 and 5. The number represents the seriousness of the non-economic injuries; the more serious the damages, the bigger the multiplier. 

To determine the right multiplier, the following factors must be taken into account:

• In a car accident, the fault of the other driver must be apparent 
• The time it takes to recover from the injuries 
• The seriousness of the injuries, for example, permanent disability 
• A report written by an expert showing proof of pain and suffering 

Once the multiplier is determined, the following formula applies: (Current and future medical bills) x (multiplier) + sum of economic damages = compensation value. Working with a skilled personal injury attorney in Charlotte is the most reliable way to ensure the most appropriate multiplier is used in your case. 

The Per Diem Method

If you have fully recovered from the injuries or are expected to recover, the per diem method may apply in calculating the compensation for your pain and suffering. The formula entails multiplying a specific amount by the number of days you suffered from the injuries.

For example, your Charlotte personal injury lawyer may determine that your pain and suffering cost you $200 daily during your recovery period. If your recovery took two months, that would mean that you’d expect to receive approximately $1,200 in pain and suffering damages.

Are There Limits on Pain and Suffering Damages?

North Carolina courts limit the amount recoverable in pain and suffering damages in medical malpractice cases to keep awards in control. Lawmakers fear sympathetic juries may abuse the subjective dollar amount on pain and suffering by offering extremely high settlement amounts.

However, these limits may not always reflect the compensation amount victims deserve in a personal injury case. That’s why it helps to have an experienced Charlotte personal injury lawyer fight for you to get the maximum settlement you deserve.

How Can I Prove Pain and Suffering?

Proving pain and suffering in a personal injury case can be complex if you don’t have any evidence, but specific steps can help your case:

• Keep a journal or log of how the injuries hinder your daily activities. Capture the events or activities you missed because of the pain and suffering
• Honor your doctor visits and keep a record of the pain medications prescribed. Let your doctor know everything about the pain. The report is crucial in helping you file a claim.
• For any emotional or psychological issues, ensure you visit a psychiatrist and talk in detail about what you’re going through for professional support.
• Keep a list of the pain medication you use throughout your recovery.

Fight for the Maximum Compensation in North Carolina with Strategic Legal Aid

Calculating pain and suffering in a personal injury case can be complex because non-economic damages can be hard to quantify. In a situation where you had some liability for the injuries or accident, you may not recover anything for your pain and suffering. That’s why you should enlist the help of a qualified Charlotte personal injury law firm to represent you in your case.

A qualified personal injury lawyer at our law firm can help you. We understand the law and have the skills to navigate the complex principles around the intricate formulas of calculating compensation amounts for pain and suffering. We can help you recover the total settlement amount you deserve. Contact us to schedule a FREE case assessment.

If you were involved in an accident and want to file a compensation claim, the other party may argue that you were partly at fault. The claim refers to contributory negligence, a legal standard that bars you from recovering damages from the defendant. Alternatively, it may reduce the compensation amount you’re entitled to from the other party.

If the defendant uses contributory negligence as a defense during a proceeding, you may not be entitled to any compensation despite sustaining injuries. A personal injury law firm in Charlotte can defend you and try to show why you’re not to blame for the accident and why you deserve to get the total settlement amount.

How Does Contributory Negligence Work?

The principle of contributory negligence applies in North Carolina. That means that if you contribute to your injuries in any way, you’re not eligible to receive compensation. People commonly use the principle as a defense against claims based on negligence.

The truth is that in every situation, both parties could have partial fault for the accident. The question is which party is more responsible for the injuries. That’s why it helps to work with a Car accident lawyer in Charlotte to help establish liability or the percentage of liability in a trial.

They will review the actions that led to the accident and determine how to assign fault. The process is usually complex, given that the defense lawyers representing the defendant’s insurance company will fight back to limit responsibility to the least possible extent. Ensure that the lawyer you hire is experienced and skilled in matters of contributory negligence.

What Are the Significant Elements of Contributory Negligence?

A defendant can aggressively fight in court to avoid taking responsibility for the injuries they inflict on the plaintiff by using the contributory negligence defense. However, for this defense strategy to be successful, they must prove that:

• The plaintiff failed in their duty to protect themselves
• The plaintiff didn’t act prudently in a way another person would have acted under similar circumstances
• The plaintiff’s negligence was partly or fully to blame for the injuries

The principle of contributory negligence is rigid, and some states have modified it to prevent unfair outcomes, leaving a small window of opportunity for the plaintiff to recover damages. That is known as the “last clear chance.”

Last Clear Chance Principle

A plaintiff can fight for compensation under the contributory negligence law despite their fault in the accident under the last chance rule. They must prove that:

• The defendant was involved in the accident and was the last person that could have prevented it
• The defendant had reasonable means to avoid the damage
• The defendant didn’t exercise these means to prevent the harm

What is the Difference Between Contributory Negligence and Comparative Negligence?

Comparative negligence is a principle the jury uses to determine how much fault or blame a plaintiff and defendant should be assigned for negligence. In this case, damages are awarded depending on the degree of negligence determined by the court.

On the contrary, contributory negligence prevents the plaintiff from collecting compensation. Most states in the United States use the comparative negligence approach instead of contributory negligence to achieve judicial or statute decisions. Two types of comparative negligence exist:

Pure Comparative Negligence

Under this principle, the plaintiff can pursue damages regardless of the percentage of fault in the accident. For example, if you were 10% at fault in an accident and got awarded 90% in damages, you can still pursue the other 10% with the help of a skilled attorney. Even being at 90% fault doesn’t stop you from filing for and pursuing damages.

Modified Comparative Negligence

Modified comparative negligence is closely similar to pure negligence. The most significant difference is that it caps the plaintiff’s compensation amount to a specific percentage of fault. That is usually 50 or 51 percent.

A car accident lawyer in Charlotte, NC, can help you understand your options if you’re unsure which one applies to your case. They can also fight to help you get fair compensation for damages and injuries.

Example of Comparative Negligence

Consider this situation: Driver A makes a left turn and hits driver B, who is driving over the speed limit, and driver B sustains injuries. Driver B sues driver A for damages. In a comparative negligence case, Driver A is found to have 80% fault for not making a safe left turn. Driver B may be at 20% fault for speeding.

Assuming the total damages recoverable by the plaintiff are $200,000, they’ll receive $160,000 instead of the total amount. That’s because the comparative negligence principle requires that the compensation amount be reduced by the plaintiff’s percentage of fault, in this case, 20%.

How Can the Court Establish Negligence on My Part?

The law requires every road user to use reasonable care for their safety and that of others. The court may deem you negligent if you:

• Were speeding as a driver
• Ran a red light
• Were driving too slowly
• Followed another car too closely
• Made sudden or unexpected movements or were jaywalking as a pedestrian
• Were texting while driving
• Rode in a car you knew was defective
• Allowed a drunk, sleepy, or reckless driver to ride you

The defendant must also show that your negligence played a role in causing the accident. You could recover compensation if your negligence only worsened the injuries but was not responsible for the accident. A skilled Charlotte car accident attorney can fight for the most favorable outcome.

An Experienced Personal Injury Lawyer Fighting for Your Rights

Cases involving contributory negligence and comparative negligence principles can be complex. Working with an experienced car accident attorney in Charlotte is your best bet for winning such cases and getting the compensation you deserve. Ensure you engage the services of a skilled lawyer and avoid facing the jury alone.

Our Charlotte personal injury law firm has a team of dedicated and compassionate attorneys who can provide the legal representation you need. We have been representing victims for over a decade, helping them get the justice they deserve, and we can help you too. Contact us to schedule a FREE consultation with an experienced attorney.