Calculating Damages In Personal Injury Cases
You simply will need legal help if you got injured in an accident caused by a negligent party. For example, you are very likely to leave out many costs and damages that are a direct result of that accident when you are calculating damages. Then you may experience difficulty calculating non-economic damages such as pain and suffering or distress. A personal injury attorney with years of experience dealing with cases similar to yours can help you calculate the amount you get as settlement for your unique case.
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Can You Quantify Pain And Suffering?
Pain and suffering can be defined simply as the mental anguish you experience after suffering an injury or injuries caused by the actions of a negligent party. It falls under the category of non-economic damages, which are damages that cannot be calculated by adding up receipts and bills. One way to calculate pain and suffering is by adding up all calculable economic losses and multiplying that number by a number between 1.5 and 5.
Another way for calculating pain and suffering is by demanding a certain amount of money every day the victim experiences pain caused by the accident. You should not worry if these calculation methods seem difficult because an experienced personal injury lawyer will help you with the calculations. The following are the causes of pain and suffering:
- Loss of the ability to maintain a supportive relationship with family members
- Temporary or permanent physical pain and discomfort
- Physical limitations that make it difficult or impossible to interact with your family like you used to
- Anxiety, depression, insomnia and other disorders that directly result from the injuries sustained in the accident
- Any emotional trauma
How Adjusters Try To Cut Pain And Suffering
Due to the abstract nature of the term “pain and suffering”, there are a number of loopholes available for adjusters that want to deny or reduce your claim. They will try to deny you maximum compensation for pain and suffering if you suffered soft tissue injuries, or when you are involved in low impact accidents. In this situation, you can keep a pain and suffering journal to help your personal injury lawyer determine the value of your claim.
The journal should include daily pain levels, your emotional state and activities that you cannot perform because of pain. Other things you can include are the number of activities you missed, and how the pain and suffering impacted your family and friends. Your lawyer will use this information to counter any arguments from the defense about cutting pain and suffering from the defense. An experienced lawyer will also consider the pain and suffering you may endure in the future because of the injuries you suffered in an accident.
Other Damages You Will Need To Calculate
Economic damages include payment for your medical bills, ambulance rides, hospital visits, urgent care appointments, physical therapy, caregiver costs and more. You calculate your economic damages by adding up all these expenses or costs. Your lawyer will review your case and identify all the economic losses that you should include when calculating economic losses.
