10/19/2026
Medical bills come with a number attached. Pain and suffering does not, and that is exactly why insurers undervalue it.
Two methods are referenced most often. The multiplier method takes your economic damages and multiplies them by a figure meant to reflect how severe the injury is, though the multiplier itself is subjective and insurers apply it conservatively. The per diem method assigns a daily dollar value for every day you live with the injury. Neither is binding, and carriers also lean on past verdicts and their own internal valuation tools.
What actually moves the number is documentation. Medical records, psychological evaluations when anxiety or PTSD is involved, symptom logs kept during recovery, and statements from the people who have watched your daily life change. Gaps in treatment work against you, because insurers use them to argue the injury was never that serious.
https://www.o2law.com/blog/pain-and-suffering-settlement-calculation/