Were you injured in a truck accident, bicycle accident, or some other type of accident in Lakewood, CO? If you were, you may be recovering from physical injuries and dealing with unexpected expenses, such as property damage or lost wages.
You may also have suffered emotional or psychological injuries in the accident, such as pain and suffering or mental anguish. These consequences are referred to as non-economic damages, as they relate to emotional rather than financial impacts.
Pain and suffering and other non-economic damages can be difficult to assess due to their subjective nature. An experienced Lakewood personal injury lawyer will review your case and advocate for you to receive compensation for all of your damages.
Let’s look more closely at pain and suffering damages and how they are calculated.
What Are Pain and Suffering Damages?
Pain and suffering is a term that relates to the physical and emotional suffering caused by an injury. They may include pains, aches, discomfort, and psychological trauma caused by an injury or accident.
What Role Do Damages Play in a Personal Injury Case?
Damages are an essential part of a personal injury claim.
Most personal injury claims are founded on negligence. This means the at-fault party failed to exercise reasonable care and caution, and their actions resulted in the accident.
To prove negligence, you must prove the four elements of negligence, which include:
- Duty of care. You must show that the at-fault party owed you a duty of care, which is a legal obligation to adhere to a standard of reasonable care regarding the safety and well-being of others.
- Breach. You must show that the defendant violated or breached the required standard of care, often by acting unreasonably.
- Damages. You must show that you suffered an injury or other harm for which you can be compensated.
- Causation. You must show that the defendant’s actions directly caused your injuries (actual causation) and that your injuries were a reasonably foreseeable consequence of the defendant’s actions (proximate causation).
As you can see, damages are an essential part of your personal injury claim.
What Damages Are Available in Colorado Personal Injury Cases?
The primary remedies in Colorado personal injury cases are damages. There are two main types: economic damages and non-economic damages.
Economic Damages
Economic damages concern the direct financial consequences of the accident. Medical expenses, vehicle repairs, property damage, and lost wages are all economic damages.
Non-Economic Damages
Non-economic damages concern the other consequences of the accident and are usually emotional or psychological. Pain and suffering damages are non-economic damages.
The following are also non-economic damages:
- Mental anguish
- Scarring and disfigurement
- Disability
- Loss of consortium
- Loss of quality of life
Non-economic damages are subjective and, therefore, difficult to calculate precisely. However, an experienced personal injury lawyer can review your case and reasonably assess the extent of your non-economic damages.
What’s the Value of My Non-Economic Damages Claim?
It’s impossible to estimate the value of your non-economic damages without reviewing the details of your accident and injuries. Many factors will influence the value of your claim, including:
- The severity of your injuries
- The extent of your economic damages
- Whether you were partly at fault in the accident
- The long-term consequences of your injuries
- The relevant insurance policy limits
- The circumstances surrounding your accident
In addition, your pain and suffering damages will be limited by Colorado’s cap on non-economic damages. As of January 1, 2024, Colorado’s cap on non-economic damages is $642,180. If the court finds clear and convincing evidence warranting an increase, however, the court can award up to $1,284,370.
How Are Pain and Suffering Damages Calculated?
The value of your pain and suffering damages, or other non-economic damages, depends on many factors. However, there are formulas that attorneys can use to help calculate non-economic damages.
- The multiplier method. Your attorney may calculate the value of your economic damages and then multiply that number by a factor to determine your non-economic damages. For example, if your non-economic damages were $100,000, your attorney may multiply that number by 2 and calculate your non-economic damages as $200,000.
- The per diem or daily rate method. Your attorney may also determine that your pain and suffering had a daily value and multiply that by the number of days you took to recover. Thus, if the attorney calculated your daily pain and suffering rate at $1000 and you took 200 days to recover, your pain and suffering damages would be valued at $200,000.
These are just a couple of methods your personal injury attorney may use.
Contact an Experienced Lakewood Personal Injury Lawyer To Discuss Your Case
If you were injured in an accident in Lakewood, CO, you may be able to recover compensation for pain and suffering damages in addition to compensation for your financial losses. In fact, oftentimes, non-economic damages add up to most of a personal injury case’s value.
Contact our skilled Lakewood personal injury lawyers at Matos Personal Injury Lawyers to schedule your free consultation. Give us a call at (720) 912 7274.