Pain and Suffering is a category of non-economic damages calculated in a personal injury settlement or decision. One question frequently asked of personal injury attorneys is “What is included in pain and suffering?”
Damages paid for pain and suffering depend upon the nature and severity of the injuries sustained by the plaintiff and the duration of the long-term effects of the injuries. Some injuries will have serious long-term effects upon one’s life, others are truly catastrophic. These serious and catastrophic injuries might include:
- Traumatic brain injury
- Closed head injury
- Spinal Cord Injury
- Paralysis
- Loss of physical or mental capacities
Who Can Recover Damages for Pain and Suffering?
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Injuries occur in many locations and types of sites. Perhaps you were hurt by unsecured items in a building, through the carelessness of an employee, due to the failure of a property owner to maintain safe conditions in a property, by a damaged or defective product, or the failure of a school or organization to make appropriate efforts to protect players of a sport from injury.
Considerations
In a personal injury lawsuit that is tried by a jury, the instructions from the judge to the jury charges them to consider several facts about the plaintiff’s injuries. These include:
- All bodily injuries sustained, their severity, effect upon plaintiff’s health and life, anticipated duration the injury
- Enduring physical impairment resulting from the injuries
- Type of medical treatment and care required by the plaintiff both before and after the lawsuit
- Recovery time or anticipated recovery time
- Pain associated with the injuries both before and after the award of damages
- Mental anguish and grief associated with the injuries
- Any disfigurement or deformity from the injuries and any associated humiliation or embarrassment
- Anxiety and emotional distress resulting from the injuries
- Inconvenience caused by or related to the injuries
- Loss of enjoyment of life
- Consequences of the injuries for the remainder of the plaintiff’s life.
The computation of pain and suffering damages is unique to each person. No simple formula can be applied to a range of injury cases. If you have been seriously injured, you would be wise to speak with a trusted personal injury attorney about what you might expect than to try to calculate an award for pain and suffering on your own. Many factors can enter into the calculation of these awards.
If you or a loved one has been injured due to the negligence or wrongdoing of another person, and through no fault of your own, you may be entitled to seek financial compensation for your hurts and harms. Altizer Law, P. C., has been helping people to rebuild their lives after injuries for more than 30 years. Bettina Altizer and her team of experts are trusted and called upon for their unique combination of compassion and fierce representation of each client. They understand that after a serious injury, a lawsuit is about the money.
