Pain and Suffering in Tennessee Personal Injury Cases
Pain and suffering refers to the physical and emotional effects of an injury that do not have a fixed dollar value. In a Tennessee personal injury claim, pain and suffering damages may compensate for physical pain, emotional pain, mental anguish, inconvenience, impairment, and loss of enjoyment of life.
These non-economic losses are different from economic damages such as medical bills, medical expenses, lost wages, and lost income. A person may recover both categories when another party is legally responsible, and the evidence supports the harm.
If you or a loved one were injured because of someone else’s negligence, Grissim & Waterman can review the case, explain how Tennessee law treats pain and suffering, and identify supporting evidence. Contact us for a free consultation with a personal injury lawyer in Nashville.
What Is the Legal Definition of Pain and Suffering?
Tennessee treats pain and suffering as non-economic damages, which, by Tennessee Code § 29-39-101, include physical and emotional pain, suffering, inconvenience, physical impairment, disfigurement, mental anguish, emotional distress, loss of society, companionship and consortium, humiliation, and loss of enjoyment of normal activities.
Pain and suffering is a legal term for the human impact of an injury rather than a bill or other fixed financial loss. It can involve both physical and emotional injuries.
What Can Pain and Suffering Damages Cover?
Pain and suffering damages may account for physical discomfort, chronic pain, reduced mobility, scarring, sleep disruption, psychological trauma, and changes in normal routines.
Physical pain may result from fractured bones, spinal injuries, burns, surgery, or other bodily injury. Chronic pain can last for weeks, months, or years depending on the condition and recovery.
Emotional pain and suffering can include fear, anxiety, mental trauma, cognitive changes, embarrassment, and severe mental distress. Such emotional injuries suffered by accident victims may affect work, relationships, independence, and normal activities.
How Are Pain and Suffering Different From Economic Damages?
Economic damages include medical bills, rehabilitation costs, lost wages, reduced earning capacity, and other financial losses.
On the other hand, pain and suffering compensation addresses non-economic losses that have no fixed dollar amount. Tennessee law distinguishes these intangible losses from objectively verifiable financial losses.
How Is Pain and Suffering Calculated in Tennessee?
Tennessee law does not use a fixed formula for calculating pain and suffering. The Tennessee Supreme Court has explained that assessing non-economic damages is not an exact science and that there is no precise mathematical formula for valuing them.
In a personal injury lawsuit, calculating pain and suffering depends on injury severity, duration of symptoms, treatment, prognosis, credibility, and the effect on daily life.
Insurance adjusters may use internal tools when reviewing a pain and suffering settlement. Two common methods are the multiplier method and the per diem method, but neither is a Tennessee legal formula.
What Is the Multiplier Method?
The multiplier method starts with certain economic losses and applies a factor based on the seriousness and duration of the injury. Factors in the one-to-five range are sometimes discussed as an informal settlement tool, but Tennessee law does not establish or require that range.
A short recovery may be evaluated differently from severe injuries involving surgery, permanent impairment, or significant suffering. The multiplier method is only an estimate and does not determine a jury award.
What Is the Per Diem Method?
The per diem method assigns a daily dollar amount to pain and suffering for a defined period and multiplies it by the number of affected days.
The per diem method is an informal valuation approach, and Tennessee law does not require courts or juries to use it. The Tennessee Supreme Court has also cautioned that its precedent should not be read as generally approving per diem arguments for non-economic damages.
What Affects a Pain and Suffering Settlement?
The value of a pain and suffering award depends on case specifics rather than a standard schedule. Factors may include injury severity, surgery, length of medical treatment, permanent impairment, scarring, chronic pain, and whether the person has reached maximum medical improvement, sometimes described informally as maximum medical recovery.
The effect of pain and suffering on daily life also matters. Evidence may show difficulty sleeping, walking, driving, working, caring for family members, or participating in hobbies.
To determine the value of a claim, insurance companies may examine liability, available coverage, preexisting physical medical conditions, treatment gaps, and whether the claimant followed medical recommendations.
How Do You Prove Pain and Suffering?
To prove pain and suffering, a claimant needs evidence showing the injury and its effect on everyday life.
Medical records are often central because they document diagnoses, symptoms, treatment, restrictions, and prognosis.
Lack of medical evidence might be interpreted as unexplained treatment gaps, which may make the claim harder to evaluate.
Other useful evidence may include photographs, employment records, therapy records, medication history, activity restrictions, and documentation of missed events.
Can a Personal Journal Help?
Yes. Personal journals can document pain levels, medication effects, sleep problems, emotional distress, missed activities, and changes in normal routines. Keeping a detailed journal may strengthen the claim when entries are accurate and consistent with medical records.
Can Witness Statements Help?
Yes. Witness statements from friends, coworkers, caregivers, or family members can describe observable changes in mobility, mood, activity level, or independence. Witness testimony may help prove emotional pain and suffering or loss of enjoyment of life that is difficult to show through clinical records alone.
Are Non-Economic Damages Capped in Tennessee?
Yes, in many personal injury cases, Tennessee Code § 29-39-102 generally caps non-economic damages at $750,000 for each injured plaintiff for all injuries and occurrences that were or could have been asserted.
The cap increases to $1,000,000 when the case involves a catastrophic loss or injury as defined by the statute. Qualifying circumstances include:
- A spinal cord injury resulting in paraplegia or quadriplegia
- Amputation of two hands, two feet, or one of each
- Qualifying third-degree burns
- Wrongful death of a parent leaving a surviving minor child when the statutory requirements are met
Tennessee law also provides exceptions in which the non-economic damages cap does not apply, including specified intentional conduct, intentional destruction or concealment of material evidence, qualifying intoxication, and certain felony conduct.
The Tennessee Supreme Court has held that the cap does not violate the Tennessee Constitution under the constitutional challenges presented in McClay v. Airport Management Services, LLC.
When Should You Speak With a Pain and Suffering Lawyer?
It may be useful to speak with a personal injury lawyer when injuries are serious, symptoms are ongoing, liability is disputed, or an insurer challenges the extent of the harm.
An experienced attorney can gather evidence, review medical records, identify applicable state laws, evaluate economic and non-economic damages, and address arguments raised by insurance companies.
Talk to Grissim & Waterman About Your Pain and Suffering Claim
If you are suffering personal injuries because of someone else’s negligence, Grissim & Waterman can evaluate the physical, emotional, and financial effects of the injury and explain the options available under Tennessee law.
With extensive experience in serious personal injury claims, we can review medical evidence, document economic losses, and assess how Tennessee’s rules governing pain and suffering damages may apply.
Contact Grissim & Waterman for a free consultation about your pain and suffering case and the compensation that may be available. Call 615-255-9999.
