While watching personal injury cases on your favorite reality court shows on TV you may hear talk of someone suing another person for pain and suffering. Although you’ve heard it over and over again, you may not really know what it means. You also may not recognize that it is a major piece of a personal injury case.
With over 40 years of experience in handling personal injury cases, The Burkett Law Firm understands pain and suffering all too well. And, we’ve had clients get compensated for it.
If you’re at the forefront of a personal injury accident, contact the Corpus Christi personal injury lawyers at The Burkett Law Firm. We’ll help you explore your legal options and reveal the true value of your damages.
What is pain and suffering in a Texas personal injury case?
The easiest way to understand pain and suffering is to think about the stress you experience after an accident. In general, there are two types :
Type 1: Physical pain
Physical pain and suffering is the pain you feel to your body or the damages that your body received. You can actually see and even pinpoint the source of pain. This can include aches, throbs, spasms, cuts, broken bones, sprains, fractures, loss of limbs or amputation.
Type 2: Mental or emotional pain
Mental or emotional pain and suffering is the type of injury to the body that cannot be touched. This includes depression, anger, anxiety, shock, fear, loss of enjoyment of life, humiliation, embarrassment, and even post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
Mental health problems are largely linked to personal injury accidents, like car crashes. According to a study by the American Psychological Association, out of 161 accident victims, 110 were diagnosed with PTSD. Six out of every ten of those victims suffering from PTSD were also suffering from depression.
The more severe your injuries, the greater the monetary amount your pain and suffering award can be. Your Corpus Christi injury lawyer will work with you to demand the largest award possible.
How do you prove pain and suffering?
Pain and suffering sounds easy to apply to a personal injury case, right? Wrong.
It’s hard to place a monetary value on emotional and mental suffering. To prove it, you and your injury attorney will need to provide medical records, medications for emotional injuries like depression, and statements from family and friends. You can prove emotional distress by taking these steps:
Step 1: Think about how the accident has impacted you emotionally and mentally.
For example, you may be suffering from constant flashbacks or experience anxiety that you didn’t have before. You may have insomnia now and may not be able to sleep well anymore. Use a daily journal to write down these symptoms in detail to show how the accident has affected you on an emotional and mental level.
Step 2: Look at your medical records.
Get an official diagnosis and provide medical evidence like psychiatric visits, treatment plans, new prescriptions, and counseling results to show how long you’ve been having these symptoms.
Step 3: Contact an experienced injury attorney in Corpus Christi.
Prepare for a consultation with a personal injury attorney at The Burkett Law Firm. Allow the attorney to negotiate a fair pain and suffering settlement for you while you focus on recovering your health.
How do you calculate pain and suffering in monetary value?
Since assigning a numerical value to pain and suffering is a challenge for personal injury cases, the judge will look at several factors:
- Flashbacks or daydreams of the accident that interfere with your daily life
- Long-term pain
- Pain levels during medical treatment
- Not being able to enjoy activities or hobbies you love anymore
- Discomfort you face in everyday living
- Needing home modifications for your injury
Along with these factors, the judge will use a method known in Texas as “the multiplier method”. The basic multiplier method is used to calculate pain and suffering in terms of money.
The multiplier ranges from a scale of 1 to 5. This technique is used to calculate your economic damages such as medical bills and expenses, property damages like damage to your car, and lost wages from work. Then, the amount is multiplied by a rate between 1.5 and 5.
For example, let’s say your economic damages from the accident are a total of $10,000. The judge then multiplies those damages by 2. So, your amount for pain and suffering would be $20,000. Your full compensation in total would be $10,000 for economic damages, plus $20,000 for pain and suffering, giving you a grand total of $30,000 for your accident injuries.
Let our experienced injury attorneys do the math for your pain and suffering
If you’re thinking about how pain and suffering will apply to your Texas personal injury claim, contact The Burkett Law Firm. Our experienced Corpus Christi injury attorneys will do the math for you and get to the heart of your claim damages. We’ll gather all of the facts and fight for the full amount of compensation. Call us today for your free consultation.