Pain and Suffering

When you’ve been in a car accident, you can suffer from far more than physical injuries. Unlike bodily harm, the pain and suffering that you sustained may not have a short recovery time. In fact, the trauma after a car accident can lead to a downward spiral of emotional highs and lows, so severe that your everyday life will become affected. 

You’re due just compensation for your pain and suffering. Additionally, your settlement should pay for more than just basic medical bills and repair costs. Keep reading to learn the extent of these types of damages and how to prove why you should be compensated for them.

What Is Pain and Suffering?

Pain and suffering mean more than just dealing with the physical pain of broken bones or soft tissue damage. It includes all of the psychological torment and mental trauma you endure after experiencing a car accident. Here is what can qualify as pain and suffering: 

• Post-traumatic stress disorder
• Nervousness
• Anxiety
• Mortification
• Humiliation
• Embarrassment
• Terror or Ordeal
• Fright
• Grief
• Worry
• Shock
• Indignity
• Apprehension

Furthermore, if you cannot experience life the same way that you did before your accident, you can also collect damages on an overall “Loss of Enjoyment of Life” claim. 

When you collect damages for an accident, you are aiming to restore an individual to the same state they were in before their injury occurred. Thus, if you suffer from more than just physical pain, you may need counseling or therapy to fully restore you back to your previous state of enjoyment. This is why more serious injuries and incidents should yield a higher award for pain and suffering. 

Legal Rights for Pain and Suffering

California’s laws are a huge proponent for victims of auto accidents, granting the right to pursue legal action against the negligent parties who are responsible for causing such incidents. Currently, you can legally collect damages when you experience pain and suffering from a car accident. Furthermore, not only can you collect when you’ve endured an accident, but now you can collect if you’ve suffered from the loss of a loved one by filing a wrongful death suit.

California Senate Bill 447 allows for damages for family members to collect when their loved one endured pain, suffering, or disfigurement. So if your close family member sustained injuries in an accident, endures pain and suffering or disfigurement, and then dies, you can still collect on behalf of that person. 

Proving Pain and Suffering

Physical injuries like bone fractures show up on X-rays. But how does one prove that they’ve suffered emotional trauma or mental trauma that leads to pain and suffering? 

Rely on testimonies. Gather all of the witnesses both expert and personal to testify to your pain and suffering. This includes physicians, therapists, family, friends, coworkers, and employers.

These expert witnesses can attest that you sought out treatment for your pain and suffering. Additionally, your previous visits to see physicians or therapists will indicate that you were suffering mental strain after the car accident, correlating the psychological harm directly with the incident. 

California’s Statute of Limitations

In any case, if you’ve been in an accident, you should seek damages as soon as possible. Do not wait until years have passed and you’re in dire need of financial help. 

The California statute of limitations for personal injuries is only two years from the time of the incident if the injury was discovered right away. If you did not discover the injury at the time of the accident, the statute of limitations drops to one year. 

Once that year has passed, you no longer can collect for any damages, including pain and suffering. Additionally, if a government entity is involved, like a collision with a city garbage truck or post office vehicle, the statute is reduced, and you will have less time to file. So if you’ve sustained injuries in an accident, seek legal help now for the pain and suffering you anticipate. 

Determining Damages

 Civil law requires that damages must be reasonable and not grossly oppressive. This simply means there’s no set standard for damages in the case of pain and suffering. The damages just need to be reasonable. 

Juries will receive instructions that they should determine a reasonable amount based on their common sense and the evidence. Your personal injury lawyer will help you determine and then argue what is reasonable. Most attorneys use a general gauge of per diem, the price of pain, or the golden rule. 

• Per diem means your attorney will ask the jury to award compensation for each day you have suffered and will suffer. If you suffer from an injury daily, you will not have a day off from your pain and suffering. The damages should reflect the quantity of time you will suffer. 
• The price of pain refers to the basis individuals pay to avoid pain. Any medication or therapy you seek to avoid mental and physical pain qualifies as the price of pain. The compensation should cover this cost. 
• The golden rule is similar to the price of pain argument. However, it puts the jury in the plaintiff’s shoes and asks them how much they would charge to alleviate the pain and suffering if they were the plaintiff. 

Because juries consist of people who have endured the high prices of medical care, they often deem high damages for pain and suffering both appropriate and reasonable. Ultimately, no matter what you ask for, the jury will determine the amount the plaintiff receives. 

Seek Help 

You should not have to suffer financially for the pain and suffering you’ve endured as a result of an accident. When you feel constant anxiety, fear, grief, worry, or more in addition to your physical pain, you’re due financial compensation. You will need the finances to help pay for the therapy and lost time at work. 

At The Law Offices of Daniel Kim, our firm fully prepares cases for both in-court fights and out-of-court settlements. We come to the table with strong positions during negotiations, empowering us to win the maximum compensation for our clients whether we stay in negotiations or go to trial. 

If you’re looking for representation, contact us. We work hard for our clients, preparing to win them the most compensation possible.