Any victim of a personal injury accident like a slip and fall accident, construction site incident, or act of medical malpractice can tell you that sometimes the costliest injuries are the ones you cannot see. You may have medical bills and expenses related to the treatment of your injuries, and you will certainly encounter […]
Any victim of a personal injury accident like a slip and fall accident, construction site incident, or act of medical malpractice can tell you that sometimes the costliest injuries are the ones you cannot see. You may have medical bills and expenses related to the treatment of your injuries, and you will certainly encounter lost wages if you cannot return to work (either temporarily or permanently) after your injury accident. You may also experience financial hardship because of the costs of your prescription drugs, medical devices, and home health care services. On top of these losses, however, are the “unseen” injuries – depression, loss of enjoyment of life, deterioration in your quality of life, and other similar losses and harm. It’s easy to know how much compensation to expect for a personal injury-related medical bill: it’s quite another to know how to value these unseen injuries.
There are two types of “damages” (that is, a monetary judgment) that can be recovered in a personal injury lawsuit. The first type of damages is called economic damages. Simply put, economic damages include those losses and expenses that are primarily financial in nature and/or those that can be quantified easily because there is a receipt, bill, invoice, or other similar objective evidence of the value of the loss. The other type of damages is called noneconomic damages. Unlike economic damages, noneconomic damages are not easily quantifiable because no invoice or other objective evidence is stating the dollar value of the loss. Instead, placing a value on noneconomic losses is more subjective and personal.
Pain and suffering caused by a personal injury accident – which would include the mental anguish that comes from being in temporary or constant pain, depression over your situation and condition, and impairment in your ability to live the life you were accustomed to before your injury accident – is one of the most common types of noneconomic damages. Like economic damages, you are entitled to recover compensation for any and all noneconomic damages that were caused by the personal injury accident.
While you may be entitled to recover compensation for your noneconomic losses, any such recovery presupposes that you can assign a value to your pain and suffering that the judge or jury finds fair and appropriate. This is not always an easy task, and it will vary from case to case and circumstance to circumstance. You and your personal injury attorney should collaborate on determining a proper value for your injuries. In making this valuation, some of the factors considered will be:
You should be aware that some states limit the amount of damages for pain and suffering that an individual can recover in certain cases by imposing a “cap” or maximum amount on such damages.
Parker Waichman LLP’s team of experienced and dedicated attorneys are focused on helping you make a full recovery by obtaining the maximum amount of damages for your personal injury-related pain and suffering. Learn how we can help you in your personal injury case by calling our office at 1-800-YOURLAWYER (1-800-968-7529).