A Typical Complaint of Pain and Suffering
You have no doubt heard a phrase called pain and suffering from a legal standpoint. For example, if you are involved in a car accident and injured, there is pain and suffering. But what constitutes pain and suffering?
Pain and suffering refer to not only physical pain and suffering but emotional and mental pain and suffering. If you are killed in a car accident, your family may file a wrongful death claim on your behalf and undergo intense pain and suffering and seek a wrongful death claim.
Family members and friends suffer a significant loss due to the death of a loved one. These losses may be in the form of companionship loss, spousal loss, loss of household services, and loss of parental guidance, to name a few.
Pain and suffering are unstable as they can last for a few days to a few weeks, months, years, or be chronic and for life. Every person is different and reacts to accidents, treatment, and medicine differently. The following examples can be reasons for pain and suffering.
- Back and Neck Pain
- Closed head injury or traumatic
brain injury - Fractured bones
- Dislocated joints
- Paralysis
- Headaches
- Internal organ damage
- Nerve damage and more
Other accident victims may suffer mental anguish that can be short-term or chronic for your lifetime. A few of these examples are as follows. Evidence of emotional distress is more challenging to prove. However, if you have the documentation and witness testimony, you can prove mental anguish.
Sometimes the court can take your testimony for emotional distress. Your proof comes in the form of personal testimony, complaints of chronic insomnia, anxiety, flashbacks, inability to return to your regular daily schedule at work and home, or decrease in life quality. There are other emotional injuries you can associate with your accident, as found in the following.
- Fear
- Insomnia
- Psychological Trauma
- Grief
- Anger
- Decrease quality of life
- Frustration
- Cognitive changes
Q.Most victims and their families can relate how they feel and what they are going through, but how does one calculate this pain and suffering in monetary compensation?
A. It is your attorney who can calculate compensation.
Q.Can the lawyer at Wapner Newman calculate monetary compensation?
A. It is the responsibility of your attorney to calculate the right and fair monetary compensation.
Q. Can monetary compensation fill the empty void?
A. Everyone knows that money can never replace a loved one, and no amount of money can ever take the place of a life once lived due to chronic changes in the victim’s body. However, depending on the victim’s injuries depends on how much monetary compensation the attorney
files.
There are a few different ways in which the lawyer calculates damages. Be aware that insurance companies may calculate pain and suffering differently.
Calculations
No personal injury case is the same. Every case is different, and every victim is different. Monetary compensation depends on the facts and circumstances. Your attorney cannot make calculations overnight. The attorney must calculate hard copies of all medical bills, loss of wages, property loss, and much more. Your attorney multiplies this total between one and five.
All of this proof must provide the court as reasonable and credible, which justifies the settlement amount you seek. Chronic lifetime side effects from your accident provide a larger settlement. Otherwise, the compensation calculates between one and three times the amount of your damages.
Per Diem Method
In this method, the attorney assigns a dollar amount from the day the accident occurred to the day the victim reaches maximum medical recovery. This full recovery is when the medical professional says that the victim cannot recover anymore, then they already recovered. The critical question is, was the victim able to recover to a level they experienced before the accident?
Proving Pain and Suffering is the Responsibility of the Victim or Family
As a victim, you must present documentation and evidence that you suffered pain and suffering, which must support your lawsuit claim. This documentation can take the form of the following. You need to supply as much information as possible as the judge, insurance company, and possibly the jury must see how this accident impacted your life.
The most important thing a victim can do is concentrate and focus on healing and allow the attorney to do their job. Allow the attorney to take all worries off your shoulders. You can prove your pain and suffering through the efforts of your experienced attorney.
You do not have to hire a personal attorney. However, this is never a wise idea to navigate the legal system without an experienced injury attorney. Never try to represent yourself in a court of law if you want a successful outcome. The only way you can get the compensation you deserve is through the efforts of your attorney.
Personal injury claims come about from vehicle accidents, car and truck accidents, slip and fall injuries, work-related injuries, medical malpractice, assault, property liability, product liability, dog bites, defamation claims, and construction injuries.
Q. What is your situation, and how did you sustain your injuries?
A.We want to hear your story. We are always ready to take your call and help you through your compensation claim. Give us a call today; we cannot go to work for you until you call. Accidents, unintentional, or intentional can happen to anyone, and it is wise to have an experienced injury lawyer by your side.