If you’re involved in a car accident can you claim damages for pain and suffering? The answer to this is a definite yes. When you’re in a car accident and are not at fault, you have the right to receive compensation for the accident. You have the right to compensation for damages to your vehicle, for lost wages, for medical bills, and also for pain and suffering.
Determining fair compensation for pain and suffering is a little more challenging than for the other areas. It’s easy to look at the damages to your car, your medical bills, and your lost wages and figure out how much money you should receive. It’s not so easy to determines how much you should be rewarded for pain and suffering.
Damages For Pain And Suffering Can Include Compensation For Mental And Physical Pain
Pain and suffering is defined by mental or physical distress. If you are in a car accident and suffer injuries, then you have physical pain due to those injuries. If those injuries were significant, then you probably also suffer mental distress as well.
Your mental distress was likely the result of fear over the injuries, concern over losing work, upset over the loss or damage to your car, and overall anxiety from the entire situation.
How Are Damages For Pain And Suffering Calculated?
Pain and suffering is something that is personal and impossible for anyone but the victim to understand. Different people have different thresholds for pain. For some people, an injury might be a minor inconvenience. For others, that injury could cause them an extreme amount of pain. This could prevent them from moving around or working.
Because pain and suffering is a personal issue, there are some legal guidelines that help determine what kind of damages should be awarded.
Pain and suffering damages are often calculated by combining the damages awarded for injuries, lost wages, and damages to personal property. Then, multiplying that figure by a number. What number do they as the multiplier? That depends.
Today, companies use complex software. This takes into consideration a number of factors when determining how much you suffered as a result of your injuries. Injuries such as a broken bone that require multiple surgeries have more weight than relatively minor injuries. Especially ones that require no surgical intervention.
An Experienced Lawyer Can Help You To Get Fair Compensation
The most important thing you need to remember is that to get fair compensation for damages for pain and suffering you will need a lawyer. The insurance company for the other driver isn’t going to just offer you a fair settlement. They are going to lowball you, so you must refuse to accept any offer before you speak to a lawyer.
While the offer they make to you might seem generous, the truth is that they are almost certainly trying to take advantage of you. An experienced lawyer can make sure this doesn’t happen.
