Pain and suffering are often the most significant part of a personal injury claim. When someone else causes you harm, you may incur medical expenses, lost wages, pain, discomfort, inconvenience, and emotional distress. A Florida pain and suffering attorney can help you receive maximum compensation for pain and suffering following an accident or injury.
A lawyer will help evaluate your claim, gather evidence to build a watertight case, identify liable parties, and file a claim on your behalf. Besides, personal injury lawyers understand how to navigate the legal processes for a successful claim settlement.
What Is Pain and Suffering?
The term "pain and suffering" encompasses physical and mental injuries that a person experiences following an accident or injury. In the legal world, pain and suffering are categorized as non-economic damages. This means that they are non-monetary losses that a person suffers in an accident.
When a person suffers a severe injury, they often experience pain and suffering. Although these words are used interchangeably, pain and suffering have different meanings in the legal world. Here's what you need to know about the difference between pain and suffering and how it can affect your injury case.
The Difference Between Pain and Suffering
As mentioned above, there's a difference between pain and suffering. Pain includes any physical discomfort that a victim might experience after their accident. This could include headaches, neck aches, backaches, or other physical ailments caused by the accident.
In addition to physical injuries, emotional trauma can also be considered a form of pain and suffering. This includes emotional distress, anxiety, depression, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), or grief caused by losing a loved one in an accident.
Florida Law on Pain and Suffering
Florida law allows you to recover damages for pain and suffering. Often, it's an intangible loss arising from the injury that can be compensated. It includes physical pain and mental anguish, inconvenience, physical impairment, disfigurement, and non-pecuniary losses.
The amount of compensation you would receive for these injuries depends on various factors, such as the extent and severity of your injuries, the permanency of your injuries, how long it took you to recover, and how your injuries affected your lifestyle.
For instance, if you suffered broken bones in a car accident, you might be entitled to compensation for the physical pain during the healing process. If you have a scar from a surgery caused by the accident, this may cause mental anguish or embarrassment and require counseling.
How to Prove Pain and Suffering
To prove your damages in court, you must provide evidence, including medical bills and testimony from friends and family members who witnessed your distress.
There are different ways to prove the extent of your injuries. In a Florida personal injury lawsuit, you could prove that you suffered physical pain and suffering by demonstrating that:
- You were in pain.
- You suffered a loss of life, body, or limb.
- You were injured.
- You experienced physical impairment.
The Damages You Can Recover
The financial and physical impacts of an accident can be overwhelming. Fortunately, if you suffered from pain and suffering due to someone else's negligence, you could recover damages for your injuries.
A lawyer can help you recover damages for pain and suffering in the following areas:
Loss of Enjoyment of Life
Injuries may prevent you from doing activities you once enjoyed. For example, if you were an avid runner before a car accident and now you can't run because of your injuries, you may get damage for losing the enjoyment of life.
Physical Pain
People who sustain injuries will often experience physical pain due to the accident. This is common in cases that involve broken bones or other severe injuries. If you can prove that you experienced physical pain, your lawyer can help you recover compensation for it.
Temporary and Permanent Limitations on Activity
By recovering damages for pain and suffering, you could secure compensation for limitations on your activity. These limitations may be temporary or permanent, depending on the severity of your injury. Your lawyer can provide further information about recovering compensation for these limitations.
Loss of Society and Companionship
If you lose a loved one in a car accident, you could recover compensation for losing their love and companionship (this is called "loss of consortium"). Your lawyer can help you file a claim for a wrongful death that proves your loss to get compensation.
Anxiety
If you suffer from anxiety due to your accident, you could recover additional damages for your pain and suffering based on this condition. Your lawyer can help you determine if this applies in your case by assessing the circumstances surrounding your accident and the anxiety that resulted from it.
Why Hire a Florida Pain and Suffering Lawyer?
As someone who has suffered a life-altering injury in Florida, you're probably dealing with many issues right now. You are likely in a great deal of pain and discomfort, but you may also be unable to work, enjoy hobbies, or spend time with loved ones. The insurance company could be offering you a settlement that doesn't even cover your medical bills to make matters worse.
In such a situation, it's easy to feel overwhelmed and hopeless. Fortunately, Florida pain and suffering lawyers have been helping people like you, and they're ready to help you get the compensation that's rightfully yours.
Your lawyer will review the facts of your case and then discuss with you the type of injuries you sustained. If your injuries are severe enough to justify a claim for pain and suffering, your lawyer will discuss hiring a doctor to document your injuries. By documenting your injuries, you can provide a complete evaluation of the damages suffered due to the accident for a better settlement.
Contact Us Today for Legal Help
Florida law is complex, and the legal system can be hard to navigate. As an injured person, you have a lot on your plate. If you've been injured in an accident that was not your fault, we recommend seeking legal help.
Dolman Law Group can be an invaluable ally during this stressful time. We know the ins and outs of the law and will help you recover the compensation you deserve from the at-fault party. Contact us today for a free consultation.