Pain and suffering is different from compensation for lost wages, medical expenses or future treatment. It is intended to compensate an injured person for the impact the injury itself has had on their life.

In Queensland, this component of compensation is generally referred to as general damages. For claims governed by Queensland's statutory personal injury regimes, general damages are assessed using an Injury Scale Value (ISV) system. For CTP claims, for example, the Motor Accident Insurance Commission explains that an ISV between 0 and 100 is used to assess general damages.

However, the ISV is only one part of a personal injury claim. The total compensation available can include a number of other types of loss.

What does “pain and suffering” compensation cover?

General damages are intended to compensate for the non-economic consequences of an injury.

This can include the impact of:

• physical pain;
• ongoing symptoms;
• disability or impairment;
• loss of enjoyment of life;
• reduced ability to participate in recreational or social activities; and
• the overall effect of the injury on everyday life.

MAIC describes general damages in Queensland CTP claims as compensation for matters including pain, suffering and loss of quality of life.

Unlike a medical bill or a specific period of lost wages, these consequences cannot simply be calculated by adding up receipts.

Queensland legislation therefore uses the ISV framework to provide a structured method of assessing general damages.

Pain and suffering compensation may also form part of a motor vehicle accident claim in Queensland. If you have been injured in a car or motorcycle accident, our Gold Coast motor vehicle accident lawyers can advise you about your potential CTP compensation entitlements, including general damages for pain and suffering.

What is an Injury Scale Value?

An Injury Scale Value, or ISV, is a numerical value used to represent the severity of an injury for the purpose of calculating general damages.

The scale runs from 0 to 100.

At the lower end are injuries that attract little or no general damages. At the upper end are injuries of the most serious kind.

Queensland's Civil Liability framework contains injury categories and corresponding ISV ranges that are used when assessing an injury. MAIC confirms that the current CTP framework refers to the Civil Liability Regulation 2025 for the rules, injury categories and ISV ranges used in the assessment.

The ISV is then converted into a monetary amount using the applicable indexed general damages provisions.

This means that an ISV of, for example, 10 does not mean that a person receives 10% of their total compensation claim.

It relates specifically to the assessment of general damages.

How is the appropriate ISV determined?

An ISV is not selected simply by looking at the name of an injury.

The nature and severity of the injury and its consequences must be considered within the applicable legislative framework.

Medical evidence is therefore important.

Depending upon the injury, relevant evidence may include reports from:

• treating doctors;
• orthopaedic surgeons;
• neurologists;
• psychiatrists;
• psychologists;
• rehabilitation specialists; or
• other appropriate medical experts.

The medical evidence may address matters such as diagnosis, treatment, prognosis, ongoing symptoms and the likely long-term effects of the injury.

Does permanent impairment determine pain and suffering compensation?

Permanent impairment can be important, but it should not automatically be treated as interchangeable with an ISV.

Different Queensland compensation schemes use different statutory concepts and assessment processes.

For example, the workers' compensation scheme uses assessments of degree of permanent impairment (DPI) for certain statutory and common law purposes, while general damages for pain and suffering are separately dealt with under the relevant legislative framework. WorkSafe explains that the assessment of common law damages can take account of the degree of impairment alongside other evidence and losses.

This distinction is important when trying to understand the value of a claim.

Does the length of recovery matter?

It can.

Two people can suffer injuries with similar initial diagnoses but experience very different recoveries.

One person may recover relatively quickly and return to their usual activities. Another may experience persistent pain, require surgery or rehabilitation, or continue to have restrictions long after the accident.

The medical evidence about the course of the injury and prognosis can therefore be significant.

In many claims, it may be difficult to properly assess the long-term consequences of an injury until the medical position has become sufficiently clear.

What if you have more than one injury?

Many accidents cause multiple injuries.

For example, a person injured in a motor vehicle accident might suffer:

• a knee injury;
• a shoulder injury;
• a spinal injury; and
• a psychological injury.

The calculation is not necessarily performed by independently valuing each injury and simply adding all of those amounts together.

The applicable Queensland ISV rules address the assessment of multiple injuries and their combined impact.

The particular approach will depend upon the injuries and the statutory scheme applying to the claim.

This is one reason that online compensation calculators can provide a misleading impression of what an actual personal injury claim may be worth.

Can psychological injuries be included?

Yes, psychological or psychiatric injuries can be relevant to a personal injury claim where the applicable legal requirements are satisfied.

Queensland's injury assessment framework includes mental disorders within the ISV system.

A psychological injury may arise independently or alongside a physical injury.

For example, following a serious accident, a person may develop a diagnosed psychological condition in addition to their physical injuries.

The existence of symptoms alone does not automatically establish an entitlement to compensation. Medical evidence, causation and the requirements of the particular compensation scheme remain important.

Is pain and suffering the same as the total compensation payout?

No.

This is one of the most important distinctions to understand.

General damages are only one potential component of a personal injury claim.

Depending upon the circumstances, damages may also include compensation for:

Past economic loss

Income lost between the accident and settlement because of the injury.

Future economic loss

Loss of future earning capacity where the injury is expected to affect the person's ability to earn income in the future.

Lost superannuation

Loss of employer-funded superannuation associated with past or future loss of earnings may also be relevant.

Medical and rehabilitation expenses

This may include reasonable expenses associated with treatment, rehabilitation, medication and other injury-related costs.

Future treatment

Where medical evidence indicates that treatment will be required in the future, those costs may form part of the damages assessment.

Care and assistance

In some circumstances, compensation may also be available in relation to care and assistance required because of the injury, subject to the applicable legal requirements.

WorkSafe similarly identifies pain and suffering, past and future economic loss and past and future medical expenses as components that may form part of a Queensland workers' common law damages claim.

This means a person's overall compensation cannot be determined simply by knowing their ISV.

How is pain and suffering assessed in a Queensland car accident claim?

Queensland motor vehicle accident compensation claims are made through the compulsory third party (CTP) insurance scheme.

Where general damages are available, MAIC confirms that they are calculated using the ISV system. The purpose of the system is to provide greater consistency between similar injuries and between injuries having similar effects on a person's life.

However, not every injury necessarily results in an award of general damages.

MAIC states that only injuries sufficiently serious to qualify attract general damages under the scheme. MAIC

The total CTP claim may also include other losses, such as past and future loss of income and treatment-related expenses.

For more information about the broader damages claim, read What Compensation Can You Claim After a Car Accident in Queensland?

What about a public liability claim?

General damages may also form part of a public liability claim where the injured person establishes an entitlement to damages.

Examples might include injuries arising from incidents at:

• shopping centres;
• commercial premises;
• recreational areas;
• footpaths;
• rental properties; or
• other public or private premises.

The value of the overall claim depends upon considerably more than the initial injury diagnosis.

What about a workplace injury?

Workers' compensation is different because Queensland has both statutory compensation and, in appropriate circumstances, common law damages.

Statutory compensation can include weekly benefits, medical and rehabilitation expenses and lump sum compensation for permanent impairment.

A common law damages claim is different. It involves establishing that the employer breached its duty of care and that the breach caused injury and loss.

Where a worker establishes a common law claim, damages can include pain and suffering together with other losses such as economic loss and medical expenses.

Why can two people with similar injuries receive different compensation?

Because the value of a personal injury claim is not determined solely by the name of the injury.

Consider two people who both sustain a knee injury.

One may:

• recover after conservative treatment;
• return to full-time employment;
• resume normal recreational activities; and
• require little future treatment.

The other may:

• require surgery;
• develop ongoing pain;
• be unable to return to physically demanding employment;
• require future treatment; and
• experience a permanent reduction in earning capacity.

Even if both injuries initially appear similar, the financial and personal consequences can be very different.

The total damages in each claim may therefore differ substantially.

Does your age or occupation affect compensation?

These factors can be relevant to some components of the overall claim.

For example, age, occupation, employment history and likely remaining working life may be important when assessing future economic loss.

WorkSafe identifies factors including a worker's likely remaining working years, employment circumstances, impairment and income history when assessing common law damages.

However, these factors should not simply be confused with the assessment of the ISV itself.

General damages and economic loss are separate heads of damage.

Can you calculate your claim using someone else's settlement?

Usually not reliably.

It can be tempting to compare a claim with a friend, family member or a reported case involving a seemingly similar injury.

However, personal injury claims are highly fact-specific.

Differences can arise in relation to:

• the exact injury;
• recovery;
• medical prognosis;
• age;
• occupation;
• earnings;
• future earning capacity;
• treatment requirements;
• care needs;
• liability;
• contributory negligence; and
• the applicable statutory scheme.

A reported settlement figure may also represent the entire claim, rather than simply the amount awarded for pain and suffering.

What if you were partly responsible for the accident?

A person's own conduct can sometimes affect the amount of damages ultimately recovered.

Where contributory negligence is established, damages may be reduced to reflect the injured person's share of responsibility.

This is a separate issue from determining the medical severity of the injury itself.

It can nevertheless have a significant effect on the final amount recovered.

Should you settle before your injury has stabilised?

Care should be taken when considering settlement while the long-term medical outcome remains uncertain.

Depending upon the circumstances, questions may remain about:

• whether surgery will be required;
• whether symptoms will improve;
• whether the person can return to their previous employment;
• whether restrictions will be permanent;
• future treatment costs; and
• future earning capacity.

Once a personal injury claim is finally settled, it will ordinarily resolve the damages claim.

For example, WorkSafe explains that after a common law settlement is finalised, the worker acknowledges that they will not be able to seek further money from the insurer or employer for the work-related injury.

This makes medical evidence and prognosis particularly important when assessing whether a claim is ready to resolve.

How much is my personal injury claim worth?

There is no single formula that can accurately value every Queensland personal injury claim.

The ISV system provides a framework for assessing general damages, but the overall value of a claim may also depend upon economic loss, treatment expenses, future care, liability and the individual consequences of the injury.

The appropriate assessment therefore requires consideration of the claim as a whole.

This article provides general information only and is not legal advice. Personal injury entitlements and the assessment of damages depend upon the circumstances of the claim and the statutory scheme that applies.