Injury victims don't have an easy time when it comes to recovering compensation for their pain and suffering. The law on these claims can be complex for anyone to understand. However, you can hire a Tampa pain and suffering lawyer to pursue your case and increase your chances of getting justice.
A personal injury attorney could help you understand your rights, file your claim, and ensure you get fair compensation.
Understanding Pain and Suffering
In legal terms, pain and suffering describes a victim's intangible injuries due to someone else's negligence. While all physical injuries following a car accident or other negligent act can be described as pain, this is meant as more than just the literal pain of an injury.
There's no exact way to quantify the pain or emotional suffering you experienced after an accident. Insurance companies often attempt to place a price tag on such things, but what they offer may fall far short of the actual value of your damages. A Tampa pain and suffering attorney can help you understand your rights and seek fair compensation for your claim.
Pain and suffering can be broken down into two categories as follows:
- Physical pain and suffering: This is easy to understand because it relates directly to injuries that cause physical pain. It includes conditions like headaches, backaches, stomachaches, and heartburn.
- Emotional pain and suffering: This covers all non-physical emotional losses associated with an accident or injury. Emotional distress can include feelings such as anxiety, depression, humiliation, anger, or worry. It can also include nervousness about what will happen next or embarrassment over scars caused by the accident.
Injuries You Can Claim as Pain and Suffering
To claim pain and suffering, the injury you sustained must be severe and significant enough that it interrupts your life. Your claim might be denied if you plan to seek pain and suffering damages after a minor injury.
Here are some of the injuries you can claim:
- Scarring
- Traumatic brain injuries (TBIs)
- Whiplash
- Spinal cord injuries
- Broken bones
- Back injuries
- Child injury
Methods of Calculating Pain and Suffering
If you've been injured due to someone else's negligence, you could recover money for pain and suffering. However, when it comes time to negotiate a settlement or prove your case at trial, the amount of compensation you'll receive will largely depend on your pain and suffering calculation.
When determining a fair settlement offer, insurance companies often use the multiplier method or the per diem method, as follows:
The Multiplier Method
The multiplier method is the most commonly used approach for calculating pain and suffering damages. In this method, the amount of economic damages from medical bills, lost wages, and property damage is multiplied by a number between 1.5 and 5. If your injury is severe or permanent, the multiplier will be higher. You then add that amount to your economic damages to estimate the value of your claim.
The Per Diem Method
With the per diem or daily rate method, a daily rate for your pain and suffering is based on the number of lost days of work, which is determined by how many days (or years) it will take for you to reach maximum medical improvement from your injuries. The total number of days of lost work is then multiplied by your average daily wage.
Ways of Proving Pain and Suffering
Often, people who've suffered an injury can't put a price on their pain, even after enduring physical and emotional trauma, the effects of which are often long term. When you file a personal injury suit, you must put a price on those injuries and losses if you want to recover total compensation.
Your Tampa pain and suffering lawyer can help you prove this damage using evidence such as:
- Documented expert opinion in a field relating to personal injury that supports having pain and suffering after an accident
- Medical evidence that could include your medical bills and prescription medication
- Doctor's notes
- Photographs of injuries (such as scars), physical conditions (such as the inability to walk), and emotional distress (such as crying or depression)
- A personal documentation of pain in a diary or journal
Why Hire a Tampa Pain and Suffering Lawyer?
Pain and suffering claims are the most common type of lawsuits filed in the U.S. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), millions of Americans are injured every year due to someone else's negligence or carelessness. Such injuries can range from minor to life-threatening and could last a few days or even a lifetime.
Victims of personal injuries resulting from recklessness or intentional acts have a right to file a lawsuit against that party, seeking payment for their medical expenses, lost wages, and pain and suffering. In these cases, working with a Tampa pain and suffering lawyer can significantly increase your chance for success during litigation.
Let Us Help with Your Claim Today
No one wants to be faced with a painful medical condition or any serious injury; you have the right to live without pain and suffering. At Dolman Law Group, we're ready to help you pursue your claim and hold the negligent party liable for your condition.
Contact our Tampa pain and suffering lawyer today to schedule a free case evaluation. We'll get started on your case right away without charging any legal fees and costs.
Tampa Office
13513 Prestige Pl. Suite 103
Tampa, FL 33635
(813) 303-0916