Car Accident Suing For Pain And Suffering – Can You Get Sued For Them?
The mental and physical damages an accident victim faces after being involved in a car accident is what people refer to as pain and suffering. It might not necessarily be a car accident but can also occur due to suffering personal injuries.
If there is a physical injury present, you can sue for pain and suffering. Some pain and suffering damage features that differentiate them from other common damages a person might suffer after a car accident.
If you have been involved in an accident and you are looking forward to suing the at-fault driver for pain and suffering, then here are some things that you need to know.
Car Accident Suing For Pain And Suffering
In Georgia, the statutes don’t have a particular definition for pain and suffering damages. Still, by general knowledge, pain and suffering refer to the discomfort and pain a car accident victim would feel after getting involved in a car accident.
They can include mental anguish and physical pain, and these things arise due to physical injuries suffered in the car accident. The negative emotion a person suffers because of a car accident is what is classified as mental pain and suffering damages, and some of the examples of mental pain and suffering include;
Mental disorders
Mood swings
Depression or Anxiety
Humiliation, Anger, or Fear
Shock
Loss of life
Even though other car accident damages can be calculated easily and are more straightforward because they include vehicle repairs, missing from work, cost of the prescription, and medical bills, calculating pain and suffering is difficult.
When it comes to personal injury, the only way to get compensation is for what you must have lost due to the car accident by getting money for losses and damages. However, damages like loss of enjoyment of life and mental anguish cannot be replaced by money in the case of pain and suffering.
Since no law can make up for mental anguish and loss of enjoyment of life damages, it is up to a judge or jury to calculate whatever amount you are owed for pain and suffering damages after a car accident. You might be thinking about how one can calculate pain and suffering damages, and that is the next thing we want to address.
How To Calculate Pain And Suffering Damages
There is no particular standard or way one can calculate pain and suffering damages, so if you decide the sue the driver at fault for the accident for pain and suffering, then it would cost you a lot of work to be able to come up with an amount that would be sufficient for your pain and suffering damages.
As odd as that might sound, it remains the only way a person or law can handle matters that are as delicate as this. Furthermore, there are a couple of factors that one can take into consideration when calculating pain and suffering damages;
How do you explain your pain and suffering?
Amount of treatment required for your pain and suffering damages
The extent your physical pain has lasted and how long it would last in the future or coming days
Observation of other people on how you act now versus how you acted before the car accident
How pain and suffering affects you physically and if there are permanent injuries or loss of body part
How severe your physical injuries are is one aspect insurance companies consider when calculating pain and suffering. It means that the more severe or permanent your physical injuries are, the more money you will get compensated with.
Multiplying your medical bills using severe injuries is one other way of calculating pain and suffering damages. But, again, all of these factors that we have listed can be considered to come up with an amount suitable for your circumstance.
Moreso, the judge or jury can also act on their common sense, experiences, and background when calculating pain and suffering damages.
Who Pays For Pain And Suffering In A Car Accident
The driver at fault does! But you will need to have an experienced car accident lawyer on your side if you want to sue an at-fault driver for pain and suffering. You must seek legal help because of how complex calculating and suing for pain and suffering damages are.
Having an experienced lawyer on your side would help calculate pain and suffering damages easily before sending your amount to the at-fault driver’s insurance company. It would make things easy because your lawyer can easily explain how you could come up with an amount for pain and suffering damages.
Conclusion – Car Accident Suing For Pain And Suffering
How solid and reasonable your explanation is would make the judge or jury see how valuable your claim is. Without having an excellent lawyer by your side, you would not accurately convince the judge or jury.
Calculating pain and suffering damages is not an easy thing to do. It is because it cannot be seen in a person, so how do you calculate what you can’t see? However, a doctor can observe some symptoms like redness in the throat, tenderness when a body part is touched, or limited motion in one part of your body.
These are merely indicators of what pain a person might be going through after getting involved in a car accident. Even if one cannot question the pain, it is also tough to calculate a person’s pain severity.
A person is different from another person, and we all have different ways of handling discomfort. It is why it is essential to seek medical attention after a car accident. If you don’t know, the insurance company might not attach so much value to your claim.
There is no proof that you are actually in pain but a statement claiming that you suffered an injury in a car accident and you are experiencing pain and suffering. However, there are certain pieces of evidence an insurance company might need to agree that you were truly involved in an accident.
These include documents from your employer attesting to the fact that you skipped work, receipts for over-the-counter medications that you must have taken, pictures of the injuries suffered, a record of prescription, medical records, and also your medical bills.
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