How Does the ‘Multiplier Method’ Work in Utah’s Personal Injury Cases?

It is difficult to put a price on pain, stress, and lost enjoyment in a case in Utah, as there is no way to obtain a receipt for such things. To quantify these subjective losses, attorneys often employ the multiplier method. 

“It helps people connect non-economic damages to things you can count, like medical bills, therapy bills, and lost wages. It is a matter of how well the evidence supports a claim and how things usually turn out in Utah courts,” says Utah personal injury lawyer Ron Kramer, partner at Kramer Injury Law.

Let us now break down the way the method works in practice.

The Multiplier Method Explained

Utah insurers consider the things you can actually add up, like your medical costs, your rehab costs, the wages you lost while being incapacitated, and other things that have a price tag on them.

They then choose a number from a set of multipliers that can range from 1.5 to 5 to account for the things you cannot actually put a price tag on, like the pain you felt, the stress you had to endure, the lack of sleep you got, and the things you missed in life.

They multiply your total damages by that figure. The more serious your injuries are, the higher that number is. If there is clarity of who was at fault, that number increases as well.

Limitations and Criticisms of the Multiplier Method

The multiplier method may seem easy to understand, but quite frankly, it is an attempt to simplify pain into numbers. Think about trying to measure every pain imaginable with just this one knob. It will give you an idea of what is going on, but not all the details that actually matter.

Sometimes it undercompensates in situations where medical bills are low, and the human toll is massive, like when there is scarring and/or emotional damage. On the flip side, it can lead to overcompensation for medical bills, since everything starts there.

Different people, whether it is an adjuster, a personal injury lawyer, or a jury, can pick different numbers. So, you end up with inconsistent results for different cases. 

Alternative Approaches to the Multiplier Method

In Utah, personal injury lawyers and insurance adjusters do not always use the multiplier method. There is also the per diem method, which sets a daily figure for pain and suffering. Your attorney then multiplies that figure by the number of days it takes for the person to heal.

Other attorneys prefer to start from a basic figure and adjust from there. They might add to this figure in case of a permanent injury, an obvious injury, or a mental health injury to a person. 

Legal Ethics and Practical Considerations

A personal injury lawyer cannot just pull a random multiplier out of thin air and call it a fact. The law requires that you substantiate those numbers, and judges require that you tell the truth.

The state’s rules follow the ABA’s lead: being competent means your attorney actually has to understand the law and prepare properly for their clients.

So, your lawyer will have to go with solid documentation, solid medical opinions, and solid evidence of how the injury relates to the changes in your life. In certain cases, such as medical malpractice, there are even caps on non-economic damages.

Work With a Lawyer

Damage valuation involves elements of medicine and judgment, as well as those peculiar to Utah. A layperson cannot easily forecast a fair estimation. While you can negotiate by yourself, the truth is that insurers negotiate daily, and you would need someone to place you at par with them.

Find a personal injury lawyer who creates evidence early on and clearly explains the concept of a contingency fee. Also, ask the attorney whether they have handled a case like yours, and review their past verdicts in the state of Utah. Look for a communication style that fits you. Finding the “right” one makes a huge difference in the end.