What is pain and suffering?
Pain and suffering is the part of an injury claim that pays for how the injury felt and still feels: the physical pain, plus the fear, worry and frustration that came with it, now and in the future. Arizona jurors are told to weigh pain, discomfort, suffering, disability, disfigurement and anxiety, past and reasonably probable.
Last checked November 9, 2026 · Official sources (4)
How does pain and suffering work in a claim? An example
Example: a cyclist is clipped by a car door and fractures a wrist. The bills and lost pay come to $14,000. Then there is what does not show up on a bill: six weeks of throbbing pain, trouble sleeping, being unable to type at work, and anxiety every time she rides past parked cars. A claim might value that at $20,000, or at much less if the insurer argues she healed quickly. These figures are only for illustration; real results vary widely.
Some adjusters use a multiplier of the medical bills as a starting point. That is a negotiating habit, not a rule of law.
Why does pain and suffering matter to you?
It is often the part of a claim most open to argument. What moves the number is proof: medical notes that mention pain levels, therapy records, photos, a short daily journal, and people who saw how you struggled. Gaps in treatment are often read as "it did not hurt much."
It covers the mind as well as the body. One model jury instruction says mental pain and suffering includes nervous shock, anxiety, embarrassment, or mental anguish resulting from the injury.
How do Texas and Arizona treat pain and suffering?
| State | What the law says |
|---|---|
| Texas | Physical pain and suffering and mental or emotional pain or anguish are listed as noneconomic damages. |
| Arizona | Jurors weigh pain, discomfort, suffering, disability, disfigurement and anxiety, past and reasonably probable future, and no statute may cap the amount. |
Pain and suffering vs. emotional distress
Pain and suffering usually travels with a physical injury and includes the mental side of that injury. Emotional distress can also be a separate claim on its own, with its own stricter rules, for example when a person witnesses a loved one being hurt.
Questions
Is there a formula for pain and suffering?
Not in the law. Juries are asked for a reasonable amount based on the evidence, and adjusters use their own internal methods.
Can I get pain and suffering for future pain?
Yes, when it is reasonably probable. Arizona's instruction covers pain reasonably probable to be experienced in the future.
Find out if you are owed money.
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See if I’m owed moneySources (4)
- Revised Arizona Jury Instructions (Civil), Personal Injury Damages (State Bar of Arizona), checked 2026-11-09. “The pain, discomfort, suffering, disability, disfigurement, and anxiety already experienced, and reasonably probable to be experienced in the future.”
- Massachusetts Superior Court Model Civil Jury Instructions, Personal Injury Damages, checked 2026-11-09. “Mental pain and suffering includes nervous shock, anxiety, embarrassment, or mental anguish resulting from the injury.”
- Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code § 41.001(12), checked 2026-11-09. “damages awarded for the purpose of compensating a claimant for physical pain and suffering, mental or emotional pain or anguish, loss of consortium, disfigurement, physical impairment”
- Ariz. Const. art. 18, § 6, checked 2026-11-09. “The right of action to recover damages for injuries shall never be abrogated, and the amount recovered shall not be subject to any statutory limitation”