Pain and suffering: how it's decided
Short answer
- Pain and suffering is the physical discomfort and emotional distress you can recover as noneconomic damages, Cornell's Legal Information Institute says.
- There's no formula.
- New Jersey's model jury charge says the law gives jurors no table, schedule or formula, and asks for fair and reasonable compensation.
Checked October 21, 2026.
Sources: Wex, Pain and suffering; Model Civil Jury Charge 8.11E (revised May 2017). Every fact cites a source
What pain and suffering covers
Pain and suffering refers to the physical discomfort and emotional distress that are compensable as noneconomic damages, Cornell's Legal Information Institute says.
- Pain and discomfortThe physical side of an injury.Source: Wex, Pain and suffering
- Anguish and emotional traumaThe emotional side that accompanies an injury.Source: Wex, Pain and suffering
- InconvenienceAlso part of it.Source: Wex, Pain and suffering
The model jury charge also lets a plaintiff recover for it.
Source: Model Civil Jury Charge 8.11E (revised May 2017)A plaintiff may also recover for any disability or impairment the injury causes.
Source: Model Civil Jury Charge 8.11E (revised May 2017)How it's decided
Each state's law and jury instructions set the rules. Here is what New Jersey's model jury charge tells jurors.
- No formulaThe law gives jurors no table, schedule or formula for pain and suffering.Source: Model Civil Jury Charge 8.11E (revised May 2017)
- Fair and reasonable compensationThat is what jurors are asked to award.Source: Model Civil Jury Charge 8.11E (revised May 2017)
- The injury itselfJurors weigh the nature, character and seriousness of any injury, discomfort or disfigurement.Source: Model Civil Jury Charge 8.11E (revised May 2017)
- How long it lastsJurors must also consider its duration.Source: Model Civil Jury Charge 8.11E (revised May 2017)
That's why this page has no pain and suffering calculator, and no number for anyone's claim.
Source: Model Civil Jury Charge 8.11E (revised May 2017)When a claim for it is limited
12 states and Puerto Rico have no-fault auto insurance laws, Triple-I says. Each insurer pays its own policyholders for minor injuries, whoever was at fault.
Source: Insurance Information Institute, Background on: No-fault auto insuranceUnless a driver chose otherwise in writing, a standard policy allows a pain and suffering lawsuit only after certain injuries, like a displaced fracture or a permanent injury.
Source: N.J.S.A. 39:6A-8(a); N.J.S.A. 39:6A-2(i); N.J.S.A. 39:6A-8.1(b)It cuts what you recover. Above 50%, you recover nothing.
Source: N.J.S.A. 2A:15-5.1; N.J.S.A. 2A:15-5.2Is pain and suffering taxable?
Federal law leaves damages received on account of personal physical injuries or physical sickness out of income, other than punitive damages. Emotional distress alone isn't treated as a physical injury.
Source: 26 U.S.C. 104(a), Compensation for injuries or sicknessSources
- Wex, Pain and sufferingWhat pain and suffering is. Checked .
- Model Civil Jury Charge 8.11E (revised May 2017)New Jersey Courts, Model Civil Jury Charges. Checked .
- Insurance Information Institute, Background on: No-fault auto insuranceWhich states have no-fault laws, and what that changes. Checked .
- N.J.S.A. 39:6A-8(a)Justia, 2025 New Jersey Revised Statutes. Checked .
- N.J.S.A. 39:6A-2(i)Justia, 2025 New Jersey Revised Statutes. Checked .
- N.J.S.A. 39:6A-8.1(b)Justia, 2025 New Jersey Revised Statutes. Checked .
- N.J.S.A. 2A:15-5.1Justia, 2025 New Jersey Revised Statutes. Checked .
- N.J.S.A. 2A:15-5.2Justia, 2025 New Jersey Revised Statutes. Checked .
- 26 U.S.C. 104(a), Compensation for injuries or sicknessThe federal law that leaves physical injury damages out of income. Checked .
General information, not legal advice. We don't know the facts of your claim. A lawyer can review them, and most injury lawyers offer a free consultation.
What to do next
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Questions people ask
How is pain and suffering calculated?
There's no formula. New Jersey's model jury charge says the law gives jurors no table, schedule or formula. Jurors weigh the nature, seriousness and duration of the injury, discomfort or disfigurement, and award fair and reasonable compensation.
What counts as pain and suffering?
The physical discomfort and emotional distress that come with an injury: pain, discomfort, anguish, inconvenience and emotional trauma, Cornell's Legal Information Institute says.
Can you get pain and suffering after a car accident?
It depends on your state's insurance rules. In New Jersey, a standard auto policy allows a pain and suffering lawsuit only after certain injuries, like a displaced fracture or a permanent injury, unless the driver chose otherwise in writing.
Is there a pain and suffering calculator?
Not one we can stand behind. New Jersey's jury charge says the law gives jurors no table, schedule or formula, so any number would be a guess about your claim.
Do you pay taxes on pain and suffering?
Federal law leaves damages received on account of personal physical injuries or physical sickness out of income, other than punitive damages. Emotional distress alone isn't treated as a physical injury.