What Exactly Qualifies as “Pain and Suffering” After an Accident?

When a person is injured because of someone else’s negligence, they usually know that they should be compensated financially but also have a vague understanding that they should get something for their “pain and suffering.” In a lawsuit, pain and suffering are referred to as non-economic damages and represent various types of negative experiences victims have after an accident. Unfortunately, the subjective nature of pain and suffering makes its value hard to calculate and where most settlement negotiations between opposing attorneys stall.

However, just as you are entitled to recover compensation for economic losses like medical bills and lost income, you should get something for the pain and emotional harm another person causes you. An experienced NYC car accident lawyer can explain exactly what constitutes pain and suffering, including how to document it and how recovering it might be limited in certain situations. Having the right information is the best way to ensure your chances of getting the pain and suffering compensation you deserve and not doing anything that might jeopardise it.

What is Pain and Suffering Exactly?

Pain and suffering can typically be separated by the physical pain a victim experiences in and after an accident, as well as the emotional suffering being injured causes.

Virtually every injury will cause pain. If you break your nose in a car accident or your wrist in a slip and fall, the immediate pain can be incredible. That pain will likely continue while you receive emergency treatment and follow-up care after an accident. The more serious the injuries, the greater the likelihood of physical pain moving forward. For instance, you might experience significant pain during physical therapy sessions or recovering from surgery. You could even have chronic physical pain after your injuries heal, especially common after suffering neck and back injuries. Any form of pain stemming from your accident should be included in your attorney’s calculation for damages.

Forms of emotional harm and distress are also considered pain and suffering. Accident victims often develop different psychological issues in response to an incident. Some people experience anxiety because their sense of safety has been compromised. Others get depressed because they might not have the same physical abilities as before, impacting their professional and social life. It is also common for victims to develop post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), which can cause responses to stress triggers that they cannot control. These types of emotional distress are not mutually exclusive, and suffering one form can further increase the damages caused by another, especially when you feel like you are not in control of your own mind.

Ultimately, your attorney will look at how the accident has impacted your quality of life and enjoyment of it. Do you now miss out on hobbies you once enjoyed? Has intimacy in your marriage lessened because of your injuries? If so, you should be compensated for it.

How Do I Prove Pain and Suffering?

Proving pain and suffering can be challenging, but a lawyer can help organise the evidence in a way that clearly illustrates how an accident has turned your life upside down.

The kind of injury you suffered will have a major impact on pain and suffering damages. For example, broken bones can be extremely painful but are far more likely to heal with the proper treatment, while spine and traumatic head injuries can affect a victim for the rest of their life.

Injuries will also dictate the treatment needed to recover. Relatively minor injuries usually have a set timetable in which treatment should get you to maximum medical improvement, such as placing a broken wrist in a cast for a few months. More serious injuries might require extensive treatment long into the future, especially if an injury victim needs surgery or physical therapy to recover, if they fully recover at all. Your medical records and doctors’ reports can be used to prove the extent of your treatment.

Of course, you will also have the chance to testify to the negative impacts following an accident. You are the best person to describe the pain and suffering another person’s negligence has caused. Friends and family can also support your claims by testifying about how you have changed since the accident.

Are There Times When I Cannot Recover Pain and Suffering Damages?

States that use a no-fault auto insurance system typically have restrictions against recovering pain and suffering damages from a vehicle accident. For instance, New York allows injury victims to sue for pain and suffering only if they suffer “serious” injuries. The definition of seriousness ranges from broken bones to permanent injuries, which is why it is important to have an attorney organise your medical records to get over this threshold.

What Can I Do to Help My Claim for Pain and Suffering?

Pain and suffering are often evident from the accident and injuries, but you still need to prove it. Working with an experienced law firm that understands car accidents and the fallout they create is the best way to recover compensation for the wide-ranging losses even a minor accident can cause. They can help you understand how pain and suffering are likely to affect your life moving forward and calculate a value for it so that you do not lose compensation that will be crucial to making a full recovery.