How Pain and Suffering is Determined
If you have suffered injuries in an accident due to the negligence of another person, you may find yourself fighting to collect economic damages including medical costs, loss of income, and more. These damages are typically fairly easy to determine because you can look at invoices and receipts to see the exact amount of money that you have lost.
However, when it comes to non-economic damages such as pain and suffering, these damages are much harder to put an exact value on. There are no hard numbers involved in these damages. When it comes to pain and suffering, this may include both the mental and physical pain that you have endured as well as the discomfort, aches, and pains associated with your injuries. An experienced personal injury attorney can help you determine what your pain and suffering may be worth in a personal injury claim.
Factors That Determine the Value of Pain and Suffering
When it comes to pain and suffering damages, the following factors are usually taken into consideration when calculating these values:
- Injury Severity – If your injuries were fairly minor like some cuts and bruises and you recovered quickly, you likely won’t get much when it comes to pain and suffering. However, if you sustained a traumatic brain injury, for example, or other injury that could require life long care and rehabilitation, you are likely to get much more pain and suffering compensation.
- Medical Treatment – Some injuries can be treated with a little bit of rest, but others require surgery, therapies, and assistive devices. The more costly and intense your treatment, the higher your pain and suffering damages will be.
- Recovery Time – Did it take you a few weeks or a few months to recover? Will you ever heal completely? The longer your recovery period is, the more likely you are to get compensation for pain and suffering.
- Life Impact – If you become disabled due to your injuries or it takes a big toll on how you have to live your life, the pain and suffering compensation you receive will likely be more than if your injuries had little impact on your life.
Proving Pain and Suffering
Pain and suffering in Florida is a general damage claim which means you can use evidence to prove your claim. Evidence when proving pain and suffering may include the following:
- Your doctors report of your injuries and the impact they will have on your future.
- Prescription drug history for pain, depression, and anxiety due to your injuries.
- Testimony from your family and friends about how your injury has impacted you.
- Mental health professional’s opinion of your state of mind since your accident.
- Your own personal records of your day to day experiences and suffering since the accident.
Contact an Experienced Personal Injury Attorney Today
If you have been injured due to the negligence of another person and believe you are entitled to pain and suffering compensation for your injuries, contact the West Palm Beach personal injury attorneys at Pike & Lustig, LLP today to schedule a consultation.
Resource:
leg.state.fl.us/statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&URL=0700-0799/0768/Sections/0768.81.html
https://www.turnpikelaw.com/pain-and-suffering-damages-after-a-car-accident/
