If you have been involved in a car accident which has left you with long-term, serious and even traumatic injuries, you may be entitled to reimbursement for your physical discomfort and emotional trauma. You are probably wondering, however, just how your chronic pain or emotional suffering can be equated with a specific dollar amount. In order to get to this figure there are calculators which are used, and which you can likely find online which give you a rough idea. If you are the victim of serious injuries, and emotional pain is a factor, you must have a knowledgeable attorney who can guide you in the determination of what your discomfort, both mental and physical is worth–on a monetary level at least. Once the two of you have made that determination, it is up to your attorney to convince the other party’s insurance company to see it the same way.
How Do You Figure Pain and Suffering?
The short version is that you will add your pain and suffering amount to your detailed costs for medical bills, lost wages and other related damages, then you will provide the argument which supports the requested settlement amount. In other words, suppose you returned to your job, even though your injuries were still very much in evidence and they were causing you constant pain and suffering. Even though you were back at work and bringing in a paycheck, it is highly likely that your pain would be harmful to your job, damaging your ability to make money. This amount could be included in the total damages requested. By the same token, if your job requires you to sit at a computer all day, and your back was injured in the accident, even if you return to work the pain you experience will make your job much harder than it normally is.
How Much Was Your Life Affected?
Many times compensation for emotional trauma and chronic, physical pain is calculated based on the extent your life has been altered or affected by your injuries. If you’ve undergone an injury which will resonate in your life for months or years to come, the higher pain and suffering award you are likely to get. Similarly, the more ways your life is adversely affected, the higher the damages, and if the injury is considered long-lasting, or results in a noticeable disfigurement or disability, damages go up even higher. Of course when talking about a scar, it is generally considered that when a younger person sustains a scar on their face it is warrants more attention than when an older person suffers a scar on their leg or any other place where it is not particularly noticeable. As you can see, determining how much of your life was impacted because of your injuries and resulting pain and suffering can be a delicate process.
Times Five?
One way to arrive at a figure for emotional trauma is to rank your specific levels of chronic pain and emotional distress from one to five, with five being the most serious, then times that number by the rough estimate of damages you’ve arrived at with your attorney’s help. It’s important that you calculate this realistically, however, because if your pain and suffering is really only a one, but you decide to times your damages by five in hopes of being able to quit work for a while, not only will the insurance adjuster assume you are trying to scam the system, but so will a judge, meaning you could end up with nothing instead of ending up with a fair settlement.
Pain and Suffering is Relatively Intangible
Pain and suffering is a relatively intangible issue, yet can affect your life in serious ways. Your levels of pain and suffering may include embarrassment from scars or other disfigurements, a permanent disability which will change your life forever or even the loss of enjoyment of your life and hope for your future. More specifically, an auto accident can leave you with anger, loss of appetite, chronic anxiety, loss of your chosen career, may leave you unable to concentrate or confused, could cause you to cry for no reason (often), could leave you with chronic depression and an inability to enjoy your former life, or could leave you with unwarranted fears, a feeling of hopelessness, may give you nightmares or may even negatively impact your existing relationships. It’s important that you have an attorney who will be your advocate and work aggressively to get you the compensation you need and deserve.
Call and speak with an experienced Mississippi personal injury lawyer from Barrett Law, PLLC. Be sure to visit our web blog for more helpful information about your case or call us for a free consultation to answer your important questions.
The attorneys at Barrett Law, PLLC serve people throughout Mississippi including: North Mississippi, Jackson, Hattiesburg, and the Mississippi Gulf Coast.