<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><p>This paper assesses the widely held belief that damages for pain and suffering are random or arbitrary. In detail, we investigate whether damages for pain and suffering are systematically affected by individual-, injury- and procedural-specific characteristics and how important these factors are relative to each other. To uncover the predictability of these awards, we rely on a sample of German damages for pain and suffering awards including 2.244 verdicts. By estimating a standard regression model we observe that final awards are systematically influenced by the injury’s conditions, by the court level the case is brought in and by the engagement of a lawyer. Our findings let us conclude that damages for pain and suffering and the respective assessment process within the German judicial system are largely reasonable and transparent rather than random.</p></abstract>

This paper assesses the widely held belief that damages for pain and suffering are random or arbitrary. In detail, we investigate whether damages for pain and suffering are systematically affected by individual-, injury- and procedural-specific characteristics and how important these factors are relative to each other. To uncover the predictability of these awards, we rely on a sample of German damages for pain and suffering awards including 2.244 verdicts. By estimating a standard regression model we observe that final awards are systematically influenced by the injury’s conditions, by the court level the case is brought in and by the engagement of a lawyer. Our findings let us conclude that damages for pain and suffering and the respective assessment process within the German judicial system are largely reasonable and transparent rather than random.

Are Pain and Suffering Awards (Un-)Predictable? Evidence from Germany

UMIT – Private University for Health Sciences

University of Salzburg and Austrian Institute of Economic Research (WIFO)

DANUBE

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

{"article-title":"Are Pain and Suffering Awards (Un-)Predictable? Evidence from Germany"}

This paper assesses the widely held belief that damages for pain and suffering are random or arbitrary. In detail, we investigate whether damages for pain and...

Are Pain and Suffering Awards (Un-)Predictable? Evidence from Germany

Published Online: Oct 15, 2019

Page range: 199 - 219

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/danb-2019-0011

Keywords
Tort Law, Damages for Pain and Suffering, Civil Procedure, Predictability

© 2019 Magdalena Flatscher-Thöni et al., published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

Are Pain and Suffering Awards (Un-)Predictable? Evidence from Germany

Published Online: Oct 15, 2019

Page range: 199 - 219

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/danb-2019-0011

KeywordsTort Law, Damages for Pain and Suffering, Civil Procedure, Predictability

© 2019 Magdalena Flatscher-Thöni et al., published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

Keywords
Tort Law, Damages for Pain and Suffering, Civil Procedure, Predictability