In today's day and age, the concept of "pain and suffering" has taken up far too much focus in personal injury cases. This is mainly due to a handful of lawsuits resulting in vast sums of money being awarded by the jury. The media - and its 24-hour news cycle - then takes the story and runs with it, making it sound like our entire legal and jury system is totally out of control. In order to straighten-out some common misconceptions of what defines "pain and suffering" as a means of obtaining compensation after an accident, we've included some important information below regarding the scope of such claims.
What Pain and Suffering Entails
Pain and suffering is an abstract concept that can be hard for people to grasp. Under the law, though, negligent drivers are responsible for "returning the injured person to the place and the condition they found them in." Obviously, there's no magic wand to wave to achieve this end. Since we can't go back in time, there has to be a different solution in order to even things up and to hold the responsible party accountable.
The law states that the at fault driver must reimburse the injured victim for the pain they suffered; this includes any frustration, anxiety, depression, the inability to participate in normal daily activities, the inability to have fun with friends or participate in different recreational activities, the pain that is caused by taking a walk or sitting in front of a computer, the inability to sleep at night, and the overall loss of enjoyment of life. Pain can be physical pain that may be experienced daily, or it might be emotional or psychological pain, such as like post-traumatic stress disorder, that results from accidents and injuries. The list of possible pain and suffering is really endless, but the point is clear: That if a negligent party caused injuries to a person, and those injuries resulted in pain and suffering, then under the law, that person has the right to receive fair compensation.
Beyond Pain and Suffering
The reality of the situation is that pain and suffering is really just the tip of the iceberg. Those injured by the negligence of someone else are entitled to far more than just compensation for pain and suffering. They are entitled to compensation for their medical bills and any related out-of-pocket expenses. They are entitled to compensation for any damage that was done to their credit rating that resulted when outstanding medical bills weren't paid in a timely manner because the at-fault driver's insurance company didn't want to pay. Injured victims are also entitled to any lost wages. This means not only the wages that they missed out on while they were recovering from injuries, but also any future earnings that they may have missed due to the accident.
Another aspect of compensation that is critically important to those who are seriously injured is for those injuries that require permanent medical care. An injured victim is not only entitled to compensation for their current medical bills, but also for any future medical bills they may incur because of the injuries from the accident.
So while it is true that pain and suffering is very real, and needs to be compensated for, as you can tell from the information above it is really only one part of the equation in serious personal injury case.
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