What is Pain and Suffering in a Personal Injury Case?

Many car crash victims in Sherman Oaks have heard the term “pain and suffering,” but they may not know what exactly it means and how it can affect their settlement. 

Pain and suffering is defined in a court of law as the physical and emotional stress that result from an incident. Car accident settlement amounts are determined based on the number and size of the damages that result from the accident. Pain and suffering can be considered general damages or compensatory damages. 

Compensatory damages are meant to compensate a person who was injured or negatively affected for their losses or injuries. Whether it’s by negligence or an intentional act, the defendant should have to financially compensate the plaintiff when they have suffered at their doing. General damages are intangible damages, like mental anguish, that are harder to put a price tag on. Despite being difficult to quantify, these count as pain and suffering, and accident victims can receive financial compensation nonetheless.

When filing a personal injury lawsuit in California, it’s common for the plaintiff to claim damages regarding compensation for actual money that was lost and for the pain and suffering associated with virtually any injury. Damages that your car wreck lawyer in Sherman Oaks can claim in your suit are:

• Medical bills 
• Pain and suffering
• Lost wages 
• Lost earning capacity
• Property damage
• Punitive damages

What is “Pain and Suffering?”

Pain and suffering can be divided up into two different types: mental pain and suffering and physical pain and suffering. 

Injuries that require medical attention, like those that result from car accidents, are going to cause the injured person a considerable amount of pain in any situation. Injuries from car accidents often require multiple surgeries and specialist visits, and they can affect victims for years following the accident. The amount of medical attention that goes into your healing process can demonstrate how much suffering you are going through.

Mental anguish is also a result of physical injuries, but it relies on the emotional consequences that result from going through something that is physically traumatic. It’s possible that during the accident, your life flashed before your eyes and you thought you were never going to see your loved ones again. If the accident left you badly bruised or with permanent scarring, then that can affect your psyche. 

It’s common to feel negative emotions like emotional distress, loss of enjoyment of life, anger, anxiety, and shock after having to endure such physical pain. Trauma is a very common result of car accidents, and depending on the accident and the person, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) could develop.

How Pain and Suffering is Quantified

There’s no set way to calculate pain and suffering. While your physical pain can be exemplified through medical bills, hospital stays, and follow-up treatments, your mental pain and suffering is more difficult for your Sherman Oaks injury lawyer to assign a number to. 

One way Sherman Oaks accident injury lawyers quantify pain and suffering is by looking at the actual medical bills and lost wages that resulted from the accident and multiplying those by a number between 1 and 5, which reflect the severity of the injury. The resulting number represents a reasonable amount for pain and suffering.

It’s also possible your car crash settlement attorney in Sherman Oaks will assign an amount per day that will add up over time until you reach maximum recovery.

Many companies also use computer programs and algorithms to determine settlements for pain and suffering. The type of injury and the medical attention required are taken into account in these situations. For example, the victim’s need for a neurologist will result in a higher settlement than their need for a chiropractor.

When your Sherman Oaks car accident injury attorney takes to the courts to argue for compensation, they will detail your current pain and suffering and any pain and suffering you will feel in the future.  

Proving Pain and Suffering

Pain and suffering are recoverable, but they can be tricky to prove. That’s why you need to hire a Sherman Oaks personal injury law firm with a track record of winning clients maximum settlements. Recovering your pain and suffering damages relies on whether or not it can be proven. 

In order to prove your suffering, you can provide documentation of your mental state as you recover from the accident. In order to show you have endured emotional trauma, your Sherman Oaks personal injury lawyer will advise you to start keeping a journal. You can detail your thoughts, feelings, and record any nightmares you have to show the impact on your psyche. If you start seeing a therapist, you can use your therapy bills as evidence.

As for physical suffering, photos can say a lot when it comes to your bodily damage. Document your injuries and their healing process through photos taken on your smartphone. 

Proving pain and suffering requires a little thinking outside the box, which is why hiring a talented personal injury attorney is so important. A hardworking attorney will take the time and effort to collect evidence and build a strong case for all of your damages, not just pain and suffering. The personal injury attorneys of Okhovat Law can win hundreds of thousands of dollars based on their skill in the courtroom.

About Okhovat Law

Were you or a loved one in a recent accident? Did you sustain minor to severe injuries due to the negligence of another person? Any time you are experiencing an emotional, financial, or physical toll from an accident, you should work with an attorney to take legal action. 

The multilingual legal staff at Okhovat Law Firm works hard to give clients the results they deserve. Several years ago, Anna Okhovat started her mission to establish a firm centered around personal injury law. Her goal is to provide legal counsel, support, and the highest level of care. Not only does this firm have a reputation for getting clients the results they need, but also for:

• Having a proven track record
• Providing one-on-one contact with clients
• Not charging fees unless the case is won
• Taking a personalized approach to every case

Whether you were injured in a motorcycle accident or slip and fall, or if you want to file a wrongful death lawsuit on behalf of a deceased loved one, you can feel confident with Okhovat Law on your side. Before, during, and after every legal consultation, we will answer any questions to provide you with the best service and support possible. Don’t wait and lose your opportunity to file a claim for compensation. Instead, give us a call at 310-362-6740 or email us at info@okhovatlawfirm.com.