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Pain and Suffering Awards: They Shouldn't Be (Just) about Pain and Suffering

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  • Peter A. Ubel
  • George Loewenstein

Abstract

In this paper, we challenge the conventional view that pain-and-suffering awards should be interpreted literally as a compensation for feelings of pain and suffering. People adapt to conditions as serious as paraplegia and blindness, returning rapidly to near-normal levels of happiness, which means that pain-and-suffering awards based literally on pain and suffering would be small. We argue that compensation for these types of conditions should be larger than would be dictated by pain and suffering alone because people legitimately care about more than just the pain and suffering that results from an injury; they also care about a variety of other factors, such as their capabilities to perform various functions, that often do not affect happiness. We propose the outlines of a method for determining noneconomic damages that divides the problem into three judgments, each to be made by the constituency most competent to make it. (c) 2008 by The University of Chicago. All rights reserved.

Suggested Citation

  • Peter A. Ubel & George Loewenstein, 2008. "Pain and Suffering Awards: They Shouldn't Be (Just) about Pain and Suffering," The Journal of Legal Studies, University of Chicago Press, vol. 37(S2), pages 195-216, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:ucp:jlstud:v:37:y:2008:i:s2:p:s195-s216
    DOI: 10.1086/529072
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Jonathan Baron & David A. Asch & Angela Fagerlin & Christopher Jepson & George Loewenstein & Jason Riis & Margaret G. Stineman & Peter A. Ubel, 2003. "Effect of Assessment Method on the Discrepancy between Judgments of Health Disorders People have and do not have: A Web Study," Medical Decision Making, , vol. 23(5), pages 422-434, September.
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    1. Cass R. Sunstein, 2008. "Illusory Losses," The Journal of Legal Studies, University of Chicago Press, vol. 37(S2), pages 157-194, June.
    2. Edie Greene, 2011. "Figuring Kids' Allowance and Other Conversion Problems: Commentary on Judgment by the Numbers," Journal of Empirical Legal Studies, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 8(s1), pages 262-269, December.
    3. David W. Johnston & Michael A. Shields & Agne Suziedelyte, 2018. "Victimisation, Well†being and Compensation: Using Panel Data to Estimate the Costs of Violent Crime," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 128(611), pages 1545-1569, June.
    4. Matthew Adler & Eric A. Posner, 2008. "Happiness Research and Cost-Benefit Analysis," The Journal of Legal Studies, University of Chicago Press, vol. 37(S2), pages 253-292, June.
    5. Sunstein, Cass R., 2013. "The value of a statistical life: some clarifications and puzzles," Journal of Benefit-Cost Analysis, Cambridge University Press, vol. 4(2), pages 237-261, August.
    6. Andrew E. Clark & Claudia Senik, 2011. "Is Happiness Different From Flourishing? Cross-Country Evidence from the ESS," Revue d'économie politique, Dalloz, vol. 121(1), pages 17-34.
    7. Sofia Amaral-Garcia, 2015. "Non-economic Damages in Medical Malpractice Appeals: Does the Jurisdiction Make a Difference?," Discussion Papers of DIW Berlin 1506, DIW Berlin, German Institute for Economic Research.
    8. Noel Semple, 2021. "Good Enough for Government Work? Life-Evaluation and Public Policy," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 22(3), pages 1119-1140, March.

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