The multiplier method: scaling off your damages
The multiplier method is the industry's default approach. It takes your economic damages — medical bills and lost wages — and multiplies that total by a factor generally between 1.5 and 5, chosen based on injury severity, recovery time, and whether any permanent impairment is involved.
The per diem method: valuing each day
The per diem (Latin for "per day") method works differently. It assigns a specific dollar value to a single day of pain and suffering and multiplies that rate by the total number of days of documented recovery, tying the value directly to time rather than to the size of your medical bills.
A genuinely Arizona-specific point: no ceiling either way
In many states, whichever method you use still has to clear a statutory cap. Arizona is different: Article 2, Section 31 of the Arizona Constitution bars any law limiting damages for personal injury or death, so neither the multiplier method's result nor the per diem method's result runs into an artificial ceiling. The number a jury or an insurer actually accepts is shaped by evidence and negotiation, not a statutory limit.
When the per diem method still earns its keep
Even without a cap in play, the per diem method can carry real persuasive weight in a case with a long, clearly bounded recovery period, where counting days produces an easy-to-follow number for a jury or an adjuster — sometimes a more compelling story than a multiplier applied to a modest economic damages total.
Neither is required by Arizona law
Both methods remain negotiating tools, not a formula Arizona courts are required to apply. A jury retains broad discretion to award whatever amount it finds appropriate for pain and suffering, within the bounds of the evidence presented.