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After a car accident or slip and fall, the financial toll of an injury is usually pretty easy to see. Medical bills pile up, work hours are missed, and your vehicle needs repaired. What’s much harder to put a number on is the physical and emotional pain victims endure, both during recovery and long after the physical wounds have healed.
In Missouri, the law accounts for this kind of harm which is referred to as “pain and suffering”. In this blog we’ll break down how Missouri law defines and calculates pain and suffering, and what steps you can take to help maximize your claim.
What Is “Harms and Losses”?
In Missouri, harms and losses refers to the emotional and physical impact that an injury has on someone’s life. Harms and losses account for non-economic damages, meaning that it is not easily quantified and does not reflect the impact of an injury on your physical and mental well-being.
TL;DR: Pain And Suffering
In Missouri personal injury cases, there is no single formula for determining pain and suffering damages. The value depends on factors such as the severity and duration of the injury, medical treatment, emotional distress, limitations on daily activities, and whether the injury causes permanent effects. Multiplier and per diem methods may be used as tools for estimating non-economic damages, but the ultimate value of a claim depends on its specific facts and supporting evidence.
Harms and losses specifically include physical pain, emotional distress, mental tolls, chronic discomfort and disfigurements, sleep problems, and the inability to perform certain tasks such as cleaning, chores, and driving.
Although harms and losses is not easily quantifiable, Missouri law still recognizes it, and the severity of harms and losses is typically determined through additional testimony from you and your doctors.
How to Calculate Damages from Pain and Suffering
There’s no single formula that applies to every case, but attorneys and insurance companies generally rely on one of two approaches to put a dollar figure on pain and suffering: the multiplier method and the per diem method.
Both aim to translate an experience that’s inherently personal (chronic pain, emotional distress, loss of enjoyment of life) into a number a jury or insurance adjuster can work with. Understanding how each method works can help you know what to expect as your claim moves forward.
The Multiplier Method
One of the most common ways to calculate pain and suffering is the multiplier method. Here’s how it works: your economic damages (typically your medical expenses and lost wages) are multiplied by a number, usually between 1 and 5, to determine your non-economic damages.
That number reflects the severity of your injury, how much pain you’ve endured, how long your recovery will take, and whether your injury has lasting or permanent effects. A lower multiplier, such as 2, is typically used for moderate injuries with a clear path to recovery. A higher multiplier, closer to 5, is reserved for the most severe and catastrophic injuries, such as fractures, traumatic brain injuries, or the loss of a limb.
For example, if a jury awards $500,000 in economic damages and applies a multiplier of 5, your pain and suffering damages could total as much as $2,500,000.
Because so much depends on how your injury is presented and argued, having an experienced attorney fight to apply the right multiplier to your case can make a significant difference in your final settlement or verdict.
The Per Diem Method
The per diem method takes a different approach. Instead of applying a multiplier to your economic damages, it assigns a dollar value to a single day of pain and suffering, then multiplies that daily rate by the number of days you’ve suffered — from the date of your injury through the end of your recovery.
For example, if your daily rate is valued at $100 and you experienced pain and suffering for 200 days, that could add up to an additional $20,000 in damages.
The challenge with this method is proving what a fair daily rate actually is. Courts often look to a plaintiff’s daily wage as a starting point, but ultimately it comes down to how well your attorney can demonstrate the day-to-day impact your injury has had on your life.
Evidence That Can Strengthen Harms and Losses Claims
The stronger your evidence, the harder it is for an insurance adjuster to downplay your pain and suffering. While a single piece of evidence can’t tell the whole story, together they build a clear picture of how the injury has affected your life. Here’s what that evidence can look like:
Medical Records
Your medical records are often the foundation of your claim. They document your injuries, treatments, and pain levels on specific dates, creating a timeline that ties your suffering directly to the incident. Consistent documentation, from the ER visit through follow-up appointments and physical therapy, shows that your pain wasn’t fleeting, and that it was significant enough to require ongoing medical attention.
Testimonials
A personal statement describing how your injury has affected your daily life (your ability to work, sleep, care for your family, or simply get through the day) puts a human face on your claim. Statements from friends, family, or coworkers who’ve witnessed these changes firsthand carry additional weight, since they show the impact of your injury is visible to the people who know you best.
A Pain Journal
Keeping a daily journal of your pain, both physical and emotional, creates a record of your recovery. Noting how you felt each day, what activities you couldn’t do, and how your symptoms changed over time gives insurance adjusters a detailed, credible account of your struggles that’s far more difficult to dismiss than memory alone.
Photographs
Photos of your injuries, taken throughout your recovery, provide visual proof of what you endured. Bruising, swelling, scarring, and the healing process itself can be difficult to convey in words, but a photo can immediately communicate the severity of your injury.
Expert Evaluations and Opinions
Independent evaluations from medical experts add credibility that’s hard to argue with. When a qualified doctor, outside of your own treating physician, reviews your case and confirms the extent of your pain and its long-term effects, it reinforces your claim with an objective, professional opinion. This opinion can carry significant weight with adjusters and juries alike.
Key Takeaways: Pain And Suffering
- Pain and suffering refers to non-economic harm such as physical pain, emotional distress, chronic discomfort, disfigurement, sleep problems, and loss of normal activities.
- There is no universal Missouri formula that automatically determines pain and suffering compensation.
- The multiplier method estimates damages by applying a multiplier to economic losses such as medical expenses and lost wages.
- The per-diem method assigns a daily value to the person’s pain and suffering over an appropriate period.
- Medical records, photographs, personal accounts, witness statements, pain journals, and expert opinions can help document the extent of non-economic harm.
- More severe, long-lasting, or permanent injuries can support substantially different damages than injuries involving shorter recoveries.
- The strength and consistency of the evidence can significantly affect how an insurer, judge, or jury evaluates non-economic damages.
Don’t Let Insurance Companies Undervalue Your Pain
Whether your case relies on the multiplier method, the per diem method, or a combination of strong evidence, the amount you’re ultimately offered often comes down to how well your claim is built and argued. You shouldn’t have to navigate that process alone, especially while you’re focused on healing.
Our attorneys at Cantor Injury Law have spent years fighting for injured Missourians, and we know what it takes to hold insurance companies accountable for the full extent of what you’ve lost — physically, emotionally, and financially.
If you’ve been injured in a car accident or slip and fall, contact Cantor Injury Law today for a free consultation. Let us help you build the strongest possible case for the compensation you deserve.
