How do Courts Account for Pain and Suffering?

There are multiple components to any personal injury lawsuit: the circumstances of the accident, the medical bills, missed work, and so on. One aspect of damages that is difficult to quantify, but often more important to the injured person, is pain and suffering. This is also referred to as “non-economic damages.” This is calculated separately from items like medical bills, lost wages, or other quantifiable damages, which are known as “economic damages” or “special damages.”

In calculating these damages, the court or jury will take into account a victim’s emotional pain and suffering due to a personal injury. In law, this is defined as “the physical or emotional distress resulting from an injury.” This includes a variety of items, from permanent disabilities or conditions to emotional distress or anxiety caused directly by the accident.

Showing it in court can also take some additional steps. If you have experienced pain and suffering in connection with a personal injury, how do you show that to a court and win damages for it?

Showing pain and suffering

In court, your attorney must put forth evidence to support your claims. A personal injury attorney will interview witnesses and evaluate documents, photographs, and video to determine the best way for you to show your pain and suffering. There are a number of ways to establish pain and suffering, and an experienced attorney can help decide the best way to approach that in your particular case.

For one, medication prescribed after treatment demonstrates the effects of an injury. If you are permanently blinded by an injury, showing the medical treatment records and prescriptions for a seeing-eye dog and medical equipment such as a cane will help establish the permanent nature of what happened. Even if it is not permanent, showing the court documentation that you have been prescribed medication to reduce pain or other injury symptoms will demonstrate the pain and suffering you experienced directly related to the accident and injury.

Another way to demonstrate pain and suffering is through the time it took you to recover. The longer the process, the more a jury will be able to empathize with you. Medical records may show this based on a course of treatment, such as physical therapy or the number of follow-up visits related to the injury.

Finally, you can demonstrate pain and suffering by bringing a family member or friend who has been with you through your recovery process. Rather than having the injured person testify about every aspect of their pain and suffering, it is often much more effective to bring a third party to court to describe what their loved one has been through.

You will have to show exactly how the injury and resulting pain and suffering led directly to the treatment, length of recovery, and any permanent conditions connected to it. These may be permanent, such as future medications and continuing doctor visits related to a chronic condition, or for a period of time, such as months of specific therapy or expensive medications.

Quantification

Going into any personal injury case, a good attorney will tell you that they can’t guarantee how much your settlement or damage award will be. This is partly because the damages are calculated either through a negotiation with the other party or determined by a jury, and it’s hard to tell exactly which items will be included. Further, it is difficult to estimate the value a jury will ascribe to each category. In the case of pain and suffering, even after the evidence is laid out, it is primarily a judgment call for the jury.

Prior to filing a lawsuit in court, your attorney may attempt to resolve the case via a settlement. That process requires negotiation with an insurance company to determine what level of compensation is appropriate to avoid a lawsuit. Pain and suffering can be included in settlements as well, and insurance companies may look at circumstances like doctor visits, days of pain reported, or an estimate of what dealing with your pain daily is worth.

The value of pain and suffering is requires a case-by-case analysis.. Your attorney will use his or her experience with your type of injury and knowledge about the members of a potential jury in your jurisdiction. Insurance companies have their own internal methods for calculating pain and suffering damages.

While it’s important to note that the specific damages in your case may be easier to quantify—medical bills and lost wages are specific numbers, after all—pain and suffering aren’t impossible. In fact, they are often a major part of personal injury cases, particularly if the injury cost you something physically. After all, how much is it worth if you were an enthusiastic marathon runner and are now wheelchair-bound due to a car accident? That kind of emotional suffering counts as an effect of the injury, too.

Consulting a personal injury attorney will help you determine what the best course of action is in accounting for your pain and suffering in your case. While it may seem complicated to include, it’s not impossible, especially with some planning and advice from an experienced professional.