Calculating Pain and Suffering Damages in Texas

The insurance company's offer is sitting in your inbox, and it's insulting. They've assigned a dollar amount to your pain, your trauma, and the loss of the life you had before the accident — and they expect you to be grateful for it. What they're counting on is that you don't know how pain and suffering damages actually work in Texas. Because if you did, you'd never accept that number.

Calculating pain and suffering in a personal injury case isn't an exact science — but it's far from a guess. Texas courts and attorneys use these established methods to put a real number on what you've been through:

Multiplier method: Your economic damages are multiplied by a number (typically 1.5–5) based on injury severity.
Per diem method: A daily dollar rate is assigned to your suffering for every day you've been affected.
Jury discretion: Jurors weigh the evidence and award what they believe is fair based on your specific circumstances.
Supporting documentation: Medical records, expert testimony, and personal journals all strengthen your claim's value.

The insurance company has a team of lawyers and adjusters whose only job is to make sure that number stays as low as possible. You need someone in your corner who knows how to beat them — with the notable victories to prove it.

That's where a personal injury lawyer in Houston from Thiessen Law Firm comes in. Mark Thiessen and Mike "The Insider" Pita have spent their careers fighting the giants that profit from your confusion — and winning. Don't just take our word for it; our personal injury reviews speak for themselves.

Call (713) 864-9000 for a free consultation and find out what your pain and suffering damages are actually worth.

How is compensation calculated for pain and suffering?

There's no fixed formula that spits out an accurate number valuing your pain — and that's exactly what insurance companies exploit. Pain and suffering settlement amounts vary widely depending on the severity of your injuries, the strength of your documentation, and who's fighting for you.

Here are the main methods Texas courts and attorneys use to calculate what you're owed:

Multiplier method

The multiplier method starts with your economic damages — medical bills, lost wages, out-of-pocket expenses — and multiplies that total by a number typically ranging from 1.5 to 5. The more severe and permanent your injuries, the higher the multiplier. A full recovery from a minor injury might warrant a 1.5, while a life-altering disability could justify a 4 or 5.

Insurance companies love to argue for the lowest possible multiplier, and they'll use every piece of evidence they can find to downplay your injuries. Your medical records, expert testimony, and the long-term impact on your daily life all factor into where that number lands — which is why having an attorney who knows how to fight that multiplier battle isn't a luxury, it's often the difference between a lowball settlement and full compensation.

Per diem method

The per diem method takes a different approach: instead of multiplying a lump sum, it assigns a specific dollar value to each day you've lived with pain, limitations, and the emotional weight of your injuries. That daily rate is then multiplied by the number of days you've been affected — from the date of the accident through your expected recovery, or for the rest of your life if your injuries are permanent.

The challenge with the per diem method is justifying the daily rate to an insurance company or jury. Attorneys typically anchor it to something concrete, like your daily wage, to make the argument feel grounded and fair. For example, for victims dealing with emotional distress after a car accident — the anxiety, the PTSD, the inability to get behind the wheel again — the per diem method can be a powerful way to put a real number on suffering that doesn't show up on an X-ray.

Our attorneys have sat across that table — we know exactly how adjusters are trained to dismiss per diem arguments, and we use that knowledge against them.

Jury discretion

When a pain and suffering settlement can't be reached through negotiation, a jury decides what's fair. Texas law gives jurors broad discretion to award non-economic damages based on the evidence presented — and there's no statutory cap on pain and suffering in most personal injury cases. That means a well-prepared case with compelling evidence can result in an award that far exceeds what the insurance company ever offered.

Jury discretion cuts both ways, though. Without strong evidence and persuasive presentation, a jury can just as easily undervalue your claim. That's why trial experience matters. Insurance companies negotiate differently when they know your attorney has a proven record in the courtroom — and at Thiessen Law Firm, that reputation alone changes what ends up on the table.

Supporting documentation

Documentation is the backbone of any pain and suffering in a car accident claim. Medical records establish the nature and severity of your injuries. Expert witnesses — neurologists, orthopedic specialists, life care planners — translate medical findings into long-term costs and consequences. Personal journals that track daily pain levels, emotional struggles, and the activities you can no longer enjoy give juries and adjusters a human picture that cold records alone can't provide.

This is where hiring a specialized Houston car accident lawyer makes a huge difference. An experienced lawyer knows how to collect the types of records that relate to your injury type, and they know how to build a case that leaves no room for the insurance company to minimize what you've been through. Every piece of evidence gathered tells the same story: that your suffering is real, it's documented, and it has a price — one that you intend to collect in full.

Suing for pain and suffering — FAQs

What can be included in pain and suffering?

Pain and suffering encompass far more than just physical pain — Texas law recognizes a broad range of non-economic losses that can be included in your claim:

Physical pain and discomfort, both past and future
Mental anguish, anxiety, depression, and PTSD
Loss of enjoyment of life and the activities you once loved
Disfigurement and permanent scarring
Loss of consortium (the impact on your relationship with your spouse)
Emotional trauma and psychological suffering
Inconvenience and disruption to your daily life

What makes these damages so difficult — and so important to fight for — is that they don't come with a receipt. There's no invoice for the nights you couldn't sleep, the hobbies you had to give up, or the person you were before the accident.

Insurance companies exploit that ambiguity, arguing that what can't be easily quantified shouldn't be generously compensated. That's exactly why documentation matters, and exactly why you need an attorney who knows how to make the invisible visible to a jury.

Is it worth suing for pain and suffering?

If you’ve experienced genuine pain and suffering as a result of your accident, you should sue for it. Non-economic damages like pain and suffering are often the largest portion of personal injury settlements, sometimes dwarfing the economic damages themselves. If your injuries have affected your quality of life, your mental health, your relationships, or your ability to do the things that once mattered to you, those losses have real value under Texas law.

The more important question is whether you can afford not to pursue them. Insurance companies don't volunteer fair pain and suffering compensation — they have to be forced into it. Without an attorney who knows how to document, argue, and fight for non-economic damages, most victims walk away with a fraction of what they're actually owed. The contingency fee structure means there's no upfront cost to finding out what your claim is worth, so there's no reason to leave that money on the table.

How much can you sue for pain and suffering in Texas?

Texas does not cap pain and suffering damages in most personal injury cases, which means there's no legal ceiling on what you can pursue. The amount you can sue for depends on the:

Severity of your injuries
Impact on your daily life
Strength of your evidence
Skill of your legal representation

Minor injuries with full recoveries will naturally yield lower awards, while catastrophic, permanent injuries can support claims worth hundreds of thousands or even millions of dollars.

It's worth noting that Texas does impose a cap on non-economic damages in medical malpractice cases — $250,000 per defendant and $500,000 total — but that limit does not apply to car accidents, truck accidents, or most other personal injury claims.

What is the average pain and suffering settlement for a car accident?

There is no true average — and anyone who gives you a confident number without knowing the details of your case is doing you a disservice. Pain and suffering settlements vary enormously based on injury severity, liability clarity, available insurance coverage, jurisdiction, and the quality of legal representation on both sides.

What matters more than any average is the specific value of your case — and that's something you can only determine with an honest evaluation from an experienced attorney. The insurance company already has a number in mind for your claim. Make sure you have one too — and make sure it's based on what you actually deserve, not what they're willing to offer.

Your pain and suffering has real value — we'll make sure the giants pay it.

Insurance companies have entire departments dedicated to making sure pain and suffering damages in Texas stay as low as possible. They run the numbers, they know the tactics, and they're counting on you not knowing yours. Every day you wait is another day they're building a case for why your suffering isn't worth what it actually is.

At Thiessen Law Firm, we've spent careers doing exactly one thing: making giants pay what they owe. Mark Thiessen and Mike "The Insider" Pita know how these companies think, how they negotiate, and where they fold — because they've beaten them before, and they'll beat them again for you. We don't just put a number on your pain and suffering. We build the kind of case that makes that number impossible to argue with.

You didn't choose to be here. You didn't choose the accident, the pain, the medical bills, or the sleepless nights. But you do get to choose who fights for you. Call Thiessen Law Firm at (713) 864-9000 or contact us online for a free consultation, and let's make sure the giants pay every dollar you're owed.

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