According to Florida case law as of the date of this article, there is no fixed rule or standard for calculating pain and suffering damages. The determination of the amount of damages is left to the jurors, which is subject to correction by the courts:
“Pain and suffering have no market price. They are not capable of being exactly and accurately determined, and there is no fixed rule or standard whereby damages for them can be measured. The award for pain and suffering must be limited to compensation. However, compensation in this connection is not to be understood as meaning price in dollars and cents as one might charge another to endure the same pain as has been suffered by the plaintiff. No sane individual would deliberately go through the plaintiff’s experiences in this case for all the money in the world. Nor is such compensation to be understood as meaning value as one would engage a clerk or laborer on a per diem basis. Compensation in this connection is to be understood as describing an allowance looking toward recompense for, or made because of, the suffering consequent upon the injury. Any sum arrived at on the basis of another concept results in a conclusion opposed to legal principles governing the award of compensatory damages for personal injury.”
See: Loftin v. Wilson 67 So.2d 185 (1953)
Related (From this site and Alan’s injury blog):
- What is My Car Accident Claim Worth?
- What is Pain and Suffering under Florida Law?
- What are economic and non-economic damages?
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