Pain and Suffering Damages In Montana
When an individual suffers an injury to their “person” and someone else’s negligence caused the injury, they have a right to file a claim for compensation against the at-fault party under Montana’s modified comparative negligence laws. Most claims include requests for compensation for both economic damages like medical expenses and lost wages and non-economic damages. The most common non-economic damages claimed in Montana personal injury lawsuits are “pain and suffering.” Although financial compensation does not erase pain, it is the civil court’s only means of restitution for harm caused by negligence, recklessness, or intentional wrongdoing. A Montana personal injury lawyer can help navigate the legal process, ensuring you receive the compensation you deserve for your injuries.
What Is “Pain and Suffering” In a Montana Personal Injury Case?
An injury causes the victim physical pain and often the emotional distress, discomfort, and inconvenience that accompanies serious pain. These repercussions of pain from an injury fall under the legal term “pain and suffering” in a personal injury claim in Montana. Physical pain and discomfort after a serious injury may be temporary or chronic, with long-term pain and suffering. Common examples of physical pain and suffering in personal injury claims include the following:
- Neck pain
- Back pain
- Nerve damage
- Fractures
- Traumatic brain injuries
- Sprains, strains, and other soft-tissue damage
- Headaches
- Dislocations
- Lacerations
Most claims for economic damages and non-economic damages like pain and suffering are resolved through a settlement from the appropriate insurance policy from the at-fault party’s insurance, such as car insurance after a car accident or property liability insurance after a slip-and-fall accident.
How Is Pain and Suffering Calculated?
Pain and suffering are intangible and less easily calculated than medical expenses and lost wages. Pain and suffering do not come with receipts or invoices. Instead, attorneys typically use one of two common methods to assign a monetary amount to an injury victim’s pain and suffering.
The Multiplier Method
The multiplier method uses an injury victim’s medical expenses as the basis for calculating the “value” of their pain and suffering claim. Using this method, an attorney assigns a number between 1.5 and 5 to represent the effects of the injury on the injury victim’s life, such as their level of pain, the amount of time a medical professional says they can expect the pain to continue until they reach their maximum level of improvement, and the effects of the pain on their life. Then they multiply the assigned number by the total cost of their medical expenses.
The Per Diem Method
This method is based on the amount of time an injury victim can expect their pain to continue according to medical experts, or according to the date the injury victim was released from their doctor’s care if they’ve already recovered. It then calculates an amount of compensation per day for that number of days. The amount of compensation per day depends on the level of pain and its impact on the injury victim’s life.
How Do You Prove Pain and Suffering?
Claiming pain and suffering requires providing compelling evidence. In comparative negligence states, the burden of proof falls on the injury victim (the plaintiff) who must show through a preponderance of evidence that they’ve suffered damages and another party (the defendant) is at fault for their injury. Proof of pain and suffering in Montana personal injury cases includes the following:
- The injury victim’s medical report
- Medical expert testimony
- Receipts for prescription pain medication
- Photo and video evidence of physical injuries
- Psychological evaluations
- A pain journal kept by the injury victim documenting their level of pain each day, their medical appointments, and the impacts on their daily life
- Testimony from family members and other eyewitnesses
An injury victim’s pain and suffering can be difficult to prove because pain is subjective and open to interpretation. The injury victim must also provide substantial evidence of liability.
Proving Liability for Pain and Suffering In Montana Personal Injury Cases
To recover compensation for economic damages like medical costs and lost earnings, and non-economic damages like pain and suffering requires evidence of the at-fault party’s liability as well as evidence of damages. Proving liability for pain and suffering damages in Montana means the injury victim’s attorney must show that the at-fault party owed a duty of reasonable care to the injury victim, they breached this duty, and their breach of duty directly caused the injury. Then they must prove that they suffered damages from the injury, including pain and suffering.
What Is Emotional Pain and Suffering After a Personal Injury?
Pain and trauma and their adverse impacts on an injury victim’s life also commonly result in emotional suffering. In some cases, an injury victim may obtain compensation for emotional pain and suffering as well as for physical pain. Evidence of emotional suffering includes the results of psychological evaluations and evidence of attendance in counseling sessions, therapy, and support groups. Signs of emotional pain and suffering include:
- Grief
- Fear
- Depression
- Anxiety
- PTSD symptoms
- Insomnia
- Changes in mood or personality
- Avoidance of triggers
- Cognitive impairment
Emotional pain and suffering has an adverse impact on quality of life and an injury victim suffering these effects deserves compensation.
Are There Caps on Pain and Suffering Damages In Montana?
Montana does not limit or cap the amount of compensation available to injury victims through a personal injury claim except in medical malpractice claims. The state caps non-economic damages in medical malpractice claims at $250,000 but does not place limits on economic damages even for medical malpractice cases.
What If the Insurance Company Says I’m Partly at Fault for My Pain and Suffering?
Montana is a modified comparative negligence state for personal injuries. Under this fault-based system, an injury victim may still recover a portion of their damages in a claim even if they contributed to the cause of the accident or the severity of their injury. The insurance company assigns an adjuster to the case who investigates the accident and assigns a percentage of fault to those involved. In many cases, one party is clearly 100% at fault, but in others, the victim may share fault. They can still recover damages but the insurer subtracts their percentage of fault from the total they pay out on the claim. An example of this system occurs when a careless or reckless driver causes a car accident but an injury victim was not wearing their seatbelt during the crash, contributing to the severity of their injuries. In this case, an insurance company could assign the victim 30% of the fault. If their claim amounts to $100,000 they can still recover $70,000. In a modified comparative negligence state like Montana, an injury victim cannot recover compensation if they are more than 51% at fault for their injury.
How Can a Montana Personal Injury Lawyer Help My Claim for Pain and Suffering?
Because pain and suffering are intangible and difficult to quantify, insurance companies commonly protect their profits by disputing this aspect of an injury claim or seriously undervaluing it. Call the Bozeman personal injury attorneys at Beck, Amsden & Stalpes, LLC for experienced representation so you can obtain the maximum compensation available to you.