If you’ve suffered one or more injuries from a car accident, configuring damages associated with your pain and suffering is a major part of putting together your personal injury claim.
However, this process is more complicated than it sounds. How do you calculate the full scope of physical, mental, and emotional pain and suffering caused by a car accident?
Our car accident attorneys have over 30 years of experience in calculating and factoring in pain and suffering in order to build full, fair, and reasonable claims.
Today, we will provide an overview of how to calculate pain and suffering in a car accident claim, taking into consideration key aspects of your lifestyle that help inform these damages.
What are Pain and Suffering Damages?
Pain and suffering damages are types of compensatory damages that are awarded to plaintiffs who have been injured in accidents.
These damages are intended to compensate the plaintiff for the physical pain and mental anguish they have suffered as a result of their injuries and trauma.
Pain and suffering damages also take into account how your injury and trauma impact activities in your daily life, such as your sleep, relaxation, hobbies, and your ability to do the activities you enjoy.
Because these are non-economic damages, they can be more difficult to pin an exact cost on, vs. economic damages like lost wages and medical bills which have a precise dollar cost.
What is Considered Pain and Suffering in a Car Accident?
Pain and suffering from a car accident can include (but is not limited to):
- Pain interrupting your work activities, leading to poor performance reviews or frustrated employers
- Difficulty remembering tasks
- Severe anxiety and stress, such as when getting back behind the wheel or being overwhelmed by doctors appointments
- Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
- Inability to do activities you enjoy, such as exercising for health or social interaction with friends
- Pain that keeps you awake at night
All of these things can affect your ability to live your life to the fullest, and to the full extent that you could prior to the accident.
How Can I Prove Pain and Suffering?
Current and future pain and suffering damages can be challenging to figure on your own. Fortunately, our personal injury attorneys can help calculate them for you.
Our attorneys can help you document examples of how your injuries and trauma are impacting your work, daily life, and activities you enjoy.
Medical Records for Physical and Emotional Pain
A personal injury lawyer can also review medical records and doctor’s notes that can bolster proof of any pain and suffering you’ve experienced. These are crucial pieces of evidence our attorneys can use to paint a picture of your health, mental health, activities, and quality of life before and after the accident.
Pay Stubs and Timesheets for Lost Wages
Your pay stubs and work timesheets may also be good resources to prove some of the financial losses you’ve incurred from any pain and suffering your injury caused.
How Do You Calculate Emotional Pain and Suffering?
Our attorneys can also discreetly pull previous, similar car accident claims and cases we’ve worked on in the past –– as a reference for calculating pain and suffering for your claim.
This historical data from other claims and cases can serve as a valuable resource and benchmark for estimating the non-economic losses you have suffered.
What Should I Ask for in a Settlement?
Your negotiated settlement amount should factor in pain and suffering (non-economic losses) as well as economic damages like lost wages, medical treatment, and rehabilitative care.
Our experienced attorneys can help you calculate the economic and non-economic damages you have suffered from your accident.
We can then review your insurance company’s initial settlement offer to let you know if it is fair or not. If it isn’t, we will put together a formal counteroffer and help you renegotiate your settlement, continuing to fight for what you deserve.
How Much Can You Claim for Pain and Suffering in Ohio?
Since 2005, Ohio has been subject to tort reform, which put a $250,000 cap on pain and suffering claims.
However, this does not apply to catastrophic physical injuries or permanent injuries that prevent a client from being able to care for themselves.
Why Do I Need a PI Attorney?
Our experienced personal injury attorneys know how to locate and obtain the evidence needed to prove both the economic and non-economic damages of your case. Preserving the evidence needed early and comprehensively will enable us to fight for the full and fair settlement you deserve.
Contact our attorneys at GBM Law today for a free case review.