Unlike medical bills or lost wages, pain and suffering do not have a set financial amount that is paid after an accident. Instead, this falls under what is known as non-economic damages, which are damages that don’t have a set monetary amount associated with them.
Because there is no specific monetary value that anyone can place on pain and suffering damages, you should seek an experienced personal injury attorney who can review your case details and offer insights and advice on calculating pain and suffering payments.
In this post, we’ll review what qualifies as pain and suffering, how to pursue payment for pain and suffering, and ways to prove this non-economic damage.
What Qualifies As Pain and Suffering?
If you’ve been dealing with an accident injury for long, you might have forgotten what it feels like to live without the pain you’ve been enduring. Slowly, you can start to justify the pain or think that it isn’t so bad or serious enough to pursue damages.
You should not diminish your pain. Doing so might cause you to not seek medical care or only follow treatment plans for a short time instead of continuing until you fully recover.
Common Types
Here are some common types of pain and suffering:
- Trauma
- Ongoing pain
- Long-term aches
- Paralysis
- Mental health issues stemming from an accident
- Depression caused by the accident trauma
Your emotions and well-being matter. Take some time to evaluate the ways the accident impacted your life and discuss this in detail with your attorney.
Even if you think it seems small or unimportant, make sure to make it part of your personal injury discussion. Your attorney will be a better judge of what information to include in your pain and suffering settlement.
How to Pursue Payment for Pain and Suffering As Part of Bodily Injury Cases
You and your attorney will likely start with negotiating a settlement with the insurance company before filing a formal lawsuit. This way, you avoid court fees and the lengthy processes that a court case can entail.
When these negotiations don’t go well or the insurance company is not willing to budge, then your attorney will file a lawsuit on your behalf. Sometimes, the presence of formal court processes helps insurance companies move forward with settlement negotiations to avoid the expense of a formal court hearing.
While you can pursue pain and suffering payments without an attorney, you will likely receive less compensation. Attorneys have expert negotiation skills and know how to calculate a fair pain and suffering settlement based on your bodily injury documentation.
How Can I Prove My Pain and Suffering?
Proving pain and suffering is not as challenging as you might expect, so long as you seek proper medical care following the accident. Here are some documents you can use to prove pain and suffering:
- Medical diagnosis and prognosis
- Medical bills verifying ongoing care
- Expert testimony from a medical professional
- Photos documenting your injuries
- Psychiatric records documenting trauma or mental health issues
Injuries cause great disruption to a person’s daily life. And in the case of scarring or disfigurement, you’ll have to live with a daily reminder of the pains you’ve encountered due to the accident.
Non-economic damages in bodily injury cases can help you care for your well-being long-term and get on the path to mental and physical healing.
When you meet with your attorney, be sure to bring all medical records and documentation related to your injuries. This will help your attorney analyze the information and determine a fair settlement amount.
Goldman & Daszkal offers a free consultation so we can get to know you and your case while providing expert information about how to proceed. Schedule your free consultation now to begin your road to financial recovery after suffering a bodily injury.