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Measuring Pain and Suffering in a Personal Injury Claim

Personal Injury - Pain and Suffering

Measuring Pain and Suffering in a Personal Injury Claim

Measuring Pain and Suffering in a Personal Injury Claim

 

If you have suffered an injury because of a car accident, it is easy to prove your damages based on reports, documents and bills. Pain and suffering can be difficult to justify without the proper knowledge. Below I will discuss what exactly is pain and suffering and how to calculate damages.

How do you define Pain and Suffering?

Pain and suffering are because of physical injuries and emotional suffering due to an accident and the damages that come with it. For instance, if a driver was scared because of a car crash, the driver could obtain financial compensation from the pain of what caused the scar, the medical treatment, the permanent damage suffered, and any constraints inflicted to the lifestyle of the victim. You may also obtain financial compensation for the recovery process, disfigurement or physical limitations.

No-Fault Insurance Claim – No Pain and Suffering

Laws from states differ, the majority, however, follow a fault-based liability system. What this essentially means is that when a person causes an accident and is at fault, the driver must be financially liable for the damages because of the car crash.

Here are the 12 states which are a no-fault system:

 

  • Florida
  • Michigan
  • New Jersey
  • New York
  • Pennsylvania
  • Hawaii
  • Kansas
  • Kentucky
  • Massachusetts
  • Minnesota
  • North Dakota
  • Utah

 

These states which are no fault means that you are unable to obtain compensation for pain and suffering. The only time you can collect pain and suffer from these states is if you have a medical bill which surpasses an amount allotted by that state. Some states also have conditions which a claim must be met such as a “serious injury” threshold, which also differs from state to state. All the other states follow the stand rules. If you can prove that the car accident was because of negligent actions which caused your injuries you are entitled to financial compensation from that party, most of the times it will be the insurance who will pay the damages for the injuries, as well as pain and suffering.

 

How do you calculate pain and suffering

It can be difficult to measure pain in suffering in numbers, very easy to make higher amounts, which result in error.  To understand the process a little better you must look at what insurance companies consider to determine a sum. Insurance companies would look at your injuries, for example, if you broke your arm and leg’s you would obtain more money than if you would have a bruise. The more/worst damages you have, the more suffering and pain you will have.

What insurance companies usually do is take the total number of medical bills by multiply it by 1 – 5 depending on the severity of your personal injury. If you have a lawyer he will have an estimation of how much you will obtain; you can do this yourself as well. Take note that before you send a demand letter, you must justify the costs to the insurance company or the driver’s lawyer.

 

Percy Martinez, EsqThis blog post is written by Percy Martinez a Miami car accident lawyer with over 20 years’ experience handling complex car accident cases across Miami-Dade County. This is not to be taken as legal advice; please consult with the lawyer of your state for more information.

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