When people talk about non-economic damages, they’re usually talking about pain and suffering. Now, that can sound like a vague legal term, but it really just means the personal, non-financial impact the injury has had on your life.

You might not have receipts to show how much your back hurt after that accident. But if the pain is stopping you from doing your job, interrupting your sleep, making it hard to focus, or just causing you to feel constantly uncomfortable or anxious, that’s something worth taking into account. And in the legal world, that matters just as much as your medical bills when you’re calculating compensation for a whiplash injury.

Pain and suffering include both physical pain and emotional distress. Physical pain covers the discomfort, tension, and aches you feel from the injury. Emotional suffering includes stress, anxiety, frustration, or depression that might follow. Whiplash can bring on both, especially when it drags on longer than expected.

The law recognizes that not all harm can be seen on an X-ray. Just because you’re not in a wheelchair doesn’t mean you’re not struggling.

How Do You Actually Calculate That Kind of Damage?

Under the law, there’s actually no fixed price for pain. It’s not like you can say, “Here’s my receipt for $500 worth of headaches.” So instead, lawyers and insurance companies use different methods to estimate what a fair amount would be.

One common method is to use your total economic expenses as a starting point. That includes things like GP visits, physiotherapy, medication, scans, and specialist appointments. Then they apply something called a multiplier. This means they take your medical costs and multiply them by a number between 1 and 5. The number they choose depends on how serious the injury is and how much it has affected your life.

If you had $2,000 in medical bills and your injury was relatively mild and healed in a few weeks, the multiplier might be 1.5, giving you $3,000 in pain and suffering. But if you needed long-term treatment, had to take time off work, or struggled with your mental health because of the pain, that multiplier might go up to 4 or 5. That could mean $8,000 to $10,000 in compensation, just for the non-economic damage.

This method isn’t set in stone, though. It’s just one way of estimating value. The final amount often comes down to negotiation, proof, and how clearly you can show that your injury really had a serious effect on your life. 

Another method is the per diem method, where your pain and suffering are given a specific amount, which can be something like your daily wages, and is multiplied by the number of days you are expected to be in pain. 

Suppose the amount set is $1,000, and you are expected to be in pain for 10 days, so your pain and suffering damages will be $10,000.

What Actually Increases the Value of a Whiplash Claim?

If you want to be compensated fairly, you have to show how the pain is interfering with your life in real, specific ways.

For example, if you’ve had to take time off work, that’s a clear sign your injury is affecting your ability to function. If you used to go for a run every morning and now you can’t, that’s another. If you’re struggling to focus at work because of constant headaches, or if you can’t drive anymore because it hurts too much to turn your head, all of that shows the impact the injury is having on your day-to-day life. 

The emotional side counts too. If your injury is making you feel anxious, stressed, or depressed, that also adds value to your case. Pain isn’t just physical. If it’s making you feel irritable, frustrated, or isolated, that’s a genuine loss, and it’s something you can be compensated for. 

How Do You Prove Pain and Suffering?

You need documentation. That means medical records that show you’ve been consistently treated for your injury. Every doctor visit, every physio session, every prescription, all of those things help build your case. If your doctor notes that you’re still experiencing stiffness or pain weeks or months after the accident, that goes a long way.

Referral letters to specialists, MRI results, and chiropractor notes can also help support the claim. They show that your injury wasn’t just a quick bruise or sprain and that it’s had a lasting effect on your body and your daily life.

It also helps to keep your own record. Write down how you’re feeling each day. It doesn’t need to be anything fancy. Just note if the pain was bad enough to stop you from doing something, if you lost sleep, or if you couldn’t go to work. Over time, these notes build a clear picture of how much this injury has been affecting you.

The more consistent and detailed your proof is, the harder it is for an insurance company to argue against it.