How are Pain and Suffering Damages Calculated?

When you have been injured due to someone’s negligence, you are entitled to seek compensation for your financial losses. What is less commonly known is that you can also seek pain and suffering damages as well.

What Is Pain and Suffering Compensation?

Accidents often cause more issues than just physical injuries. There are also the physical and emotional issues that a person suffers as a result of those injuries. When you are suing for pain and suffering, you are suing for the things you have to “go through” now due to your injuries.

Pain and suffering will vary with each individual. Some accidents may seem minor, but the pain and suffering losses are great. Others may have significant pain and suffering to contend with because of the severity of their injuries.

Pain and Suffering Settlement Examples

One of the things that you must consider when looking at the victim’s long-term suffering is how the injury impacts their life. For example, a person injured in a slip and fall and injures their rotator cuff really badly may have to have surgery and physical therapy to recover from their injury.

However, the loss of strength in that arm due to the injury now prevents this person from holding their infant grandchild or working in their garden, both of which are a source of joy in their life. This is where the mental anguish and suffering comes into the compensation packages. These are damages that are not financial losses but are losses to the enjoyment of life.

It is hard to determine the extent of pain and suffering a person will endure due to an injury. However, working with a knowledgeable pain and suffering lawyer will help you determine the actual losses you will face.

How Much Is Pain and Suffering Worth

It is very hard to place a monetary amount on pain and suffering as a whole. There is no specific formula for determining this amount, regardless of the “calculators” you may find on the Internet that claim they can help you determine what you will receive for this type of compensation claim.

In general, pain and suffering may be gauged by the amount of money spent on medical care for your injuries. Higher medical bills often indicate more pain and suffering for the individual because the injuries required more care.

However, this is not always the case. Your attorney will also consider the different types of stresses and suffering you will face on a personal level as part of this compensation.

One of the best things you can do to help your attorney with this portion of your settlement is to keep a diary of how the injury has affected your life. Be very honest in your injury diary and note the good days as well as the bad. But don’t be afraid to include things such as being frustrated because you could not enjoy an activity that you normally enjoy or that you are fighting depression because of how much the accident has impacted your life. Your attorney can use this as a guideline to show the insurance company the true pain and suffering you are facing because of your injuries.

So how do you calculate pain and suffering? You work closely with your attorney to make sure that it can be shown how the accident has impacted your life. Your attorney will also work closely with medical professionals to provide them with data about physical limitations, mental health issues, and your overall emotional well-being concerning the accident.

Rely On Your Attorney For Accurate Pain and Suffering Compensation

When you hire an attorney to file a claim for compensation because of an injury, your attorney will always have your best interests in mind. It is their job to ensure that you are treated fairly by the insurance company covering the accident. They will make sure that any compensation package you are offered contains all of the compensation types you are entitled to and that each type is a fair amount.

Before your attorney drafts the Demand for Compensation letter to the insurance company, they will review their offer with you and explain in detail how they arrived at those amounts. If you have any questions about your compensation package, make sure that you ask your attorney to explain why they are there.

Florida Pain and Suffering Attorneys

If you or a loved one was injured in an accident, the attorney at Landau Law can help you recover fair compensation for your injuries, as well as compensation for pain and suffering. Contact us today for a free and confidential consultation.

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