Filing a personal injury claim allows you to seek damages for both economic and noneconomic damages. Economic damages include tangible financial losses, such as medical costs, lost wages or property damages. These often make up the bulk of compensation amounts.
However, you can also pursue recovery of noneconomic damages. These are intangible losses you suffer because of the accident and the injuries it caused. A common example of noneconomic damages is pain and suffering.
What is pain and suffering?
“Pain and suffering” is the physical and emotional distress you experience due to your injuries. What counts as pain and suffering may be subjective, but it typically includes:
- Actual physical pain and discomfort
- Emotional pain and distress
- Mental anguish
- Loss of quality of life
- Anxiety, depression or post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) resulting from the injury
These physical and mental consequences can affect a person for months or even years. In some cases, the suffering lasts for life, especially in accidents that render a victim disabled.
How do you prove pain and suffering?
Proving physical pain often requires medical assessments and documentation. For example, your doctor can provide documentation of your injuries and any pain that may accompany them. You can also present records of:
- Surgeries
- Treatments
- Rehabilitation
- Medication
These documents can help demonstrate the physical effect of your injuries and their impact on your life.
On the other hand, showing evidence of emotional suffering can be challenging because it can be subjective and is often invisible. However, an experienced personal injury lawyer can help you prove your anguish in numerous ways. Some examples include:
- Collecting testimonies from your loved ones
- Showing pictures of your injuries
- Providing testimonies from medical experts to demonstrate the overall impact of your injuries
- Gathering documentation related to your mental health treatments
- Helping you create your own testimony that shows how much distress the accident caused
Many accidents lead to more than just physical injuries. Oftentimes, these injuries also affect your mental well-being, and that should be enough reason to seek compensation.
With a deeper understanding of these damages, you can have a better chance of recovering fair compensation. Don’t hesitate to ask for what you are entitled to.