There are two main ways that courts come up with pain and suffering damages. The first way, called the “multiplier method,” takes the total amount of economic damages and multiplies them by a number, usually between 1 and 5. The more serious your injuries, the higher the multiplier. The other way is referred to as the “per diem method.” Per diem is a Latin phrase meaning “per day.” Thus, under the per diem method, the court will determine a daily amount of damages and multiply that by the number of days until you are expected to reach a full recovery.