Any physical or mental pain you experience after an accident constitutes pain and suffering in a personal injury case. You deserve to hold the liable party accountable when you experience physical and emotional issues after an accident. They should have to pay for any turmoil you experienced because of your injuries.
A personal injury attorney can help you seek compensation for pain and suffering damages. They can help you prove you sustained these damages and calculate their value.
Types of Pain and Suffering Damages in a Personal Injury Case
When you endure severe physical and mental pain due to an injury caused by someone else, you should take the necessary steps to pursue compensation. Texas Civil Practice & Remedies Code § 41.001 allows injury victims to seek compensation for both economic and non-economic damages, such as pain and suffering.
Not only does this help you by compensating you financially, but it also helps you get justice from the liable party. When someone acts negligently, they should be held accountable.
Through a personal injury claim, you could seek compensation from the at-fault party for your pain and suffering damages, including:
Physical Pain and Suffering
Physical pain and suffering refers to the hardship your body experienced due to the accident and your injuries. You can include evidence to prove you suffered from physical pain up to the date of the claim. In addition, you can include evidence that you will likely suffer more physical pain in the future.
Besides pain, physical pain and suffering could also include the following:
- Discomfort from your injuries
- Inconvenience your injuries caused
When you speak to your attorney, you can explain how the physical pain from your injuries has impacted your life.
Mental Pain and Suffering
Mental pain and suffering accounts for the emotional and psychological damage you experienced due to the accident, whether it was a car accident, slip and fall, or other situation.
For example, you could experience severe emotional distress after going through a traumatic event that caused you harm. Examples of situations where you could seek compensation for mental pain and suffering damages include:
- If you developed a mental health issue directly related to the accident. Mental health issues could include anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder, sleeping issues, fear, loss of appetite, or depression.
- If you cannot enjoy life to the same capacity you could before. Emotional pain can prevent you from participating in activities at the same level you could before the accident.
- If your physical injuries have altered your appearance or mobility. For example, you may have disfiguring scars due to a dog bite or be confined to a wheelchair for the rest of your life due to paralysis. These conditions can greatly affect your mental and emotional well-being.
Emotional issues could impact you for the rest of your life. Remember the extent of their impact is important, so you can seek compensation for past and future losses.
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How to Prove Pain and Suffering Damages
Proving pain and suffering damages is more challenging than proving you sustained economic damages, such as medical bills or lost income. You don’t have receipts or pay stubs to prove your pain levels. Because of this, you must build a strong case to prove you suffered these damages if you want to receive compensation for them.
Examples of evidence that could help you prove pain and suffering damages include:
- Medical bills you received to prove you received extensive medical care
- Medical records to prove your injuries link to the accident
- Photos of your injuries
- Records from a psychiatrist or mental health professional to prove your current mental state
- Testimonies from your friends and family members who have witnessed changes in your mental or emotional well-being.
Although your pain and suffering didn’t directly cause you to lose money, you still deserve compensation. Pain and suffering can impact your life significantly. Therefore, you should do everything possible to prove you sustained these losses. By hiring a personal injury attorney, you have taken the most effective step to hold the liable party accountable for all your losses.
How to Calculate the Value of Pain and Suffering Damages
Pain and suffering damages are subjective and, therefore, don’t have a specific monetary value linked to them. Because of this, an experienced professional must calculate the value of these losses.
Personal injury attorneys have the tools to calculate pain and suffering damages. They can use their knowledge and skills to get an accurate compensation amount to seek for your pain and suffering.
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You Must File Your Lawsuit Before the Statute of Limitations
If you want to file a lawsuit seeking compensation for your pain and suffering damages, you must file before your state’s personal injury statute of limitations deadline. In Texas, this deadline is generally two years from the accident date, per Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code § 16.003.
If the deadline passes, you will likely lose your chance to file a lawsuit. If you seek help from a legal representative as soon as possible after the accident, they can ensure you meet this deadline.
Your attorney can try to help you negotiate a settlement agreement both before and after filing a lawsuit. However, if the liable party doesn’t agree to compensate you fairly, you must ensure you have enough time to prepare for court. Therefore, you should not delay contacting a personal injury law firm after an accident.
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Other Damages You Could Recover in a Personal Injury Case
In addition to pain and suffering damages, you could seek compensation for the following economic damages based on your losses:
- Medical expenses
- Lost income
- Property damage
- Other monetary losses
When you calculate the value of your damages, it’s also important to think of future losses. For example, if your injuries will require medical treatments for several more years, you could have ongoing medical bills and lost income. Your attorney can help you calculate the estimated value of those future losses. That way, you won’t have to pay for those costs when they arise in the future.
An Attorney Can Help You Calculate Your Pain and Suffering Damages in a Personal Injury Case
Contact Loncar Lyon Jenkins today for a free case evaluation. We can further explain what constitutes pain and suffering in a personal injury case. Then, based on the information we provide, you can decide if you want to move forward with a case.
Call or text 877-239-4878 or complete a Free Case Evaluation form
