Making Accidents Easier To Recover From

Posted on: 8 January 2019

Monetary payment for your losses as a result of an accident might include a category that few people fully understand. If the other driver is at fault, you might expect to be paid for your wrecked car and medical bills, but that is just the tip of the compensation iceberg. Pain and suffering are a separate and valuable form of compensation and you would be wise to understand how it's calculated and what you are owed. Read on to learn more.

Pain and Suffering: What is it?

When you end up hurt, with a wrecked vehicle, and are denied the pleasure of being around your family and friends, you might just chalk the overall negative effects up to a side effect of the wreck. Fortunately, you can be paid for this particular side effect. Pain and suffering is the depression you feel creeping into your life since the accident. It's the difficulty you have playing with your children. Pain and suffering is the general emotional discomfort you are experiencing as a result of your wreck and the physical injuries you've suffered.

Non-economical Damages

You are owed specific sums of money for your damages. You might know, for example, that your wrecked car is worth $20,000 or that you've missed 20 days of work and that loss is worth $4,500. Pain and suffering is only tangentially based on a specific number and is therefore referred to as a non-economical damage. When it comes time to put a price on pain and suffering, your attorney and the other side's insurance carrier uses a variety of methods to figure out a dollar figure that is appropriate. In order to be paid a fair sum for pain and suffering, you must have a general idea of its worth.

Pain and Suffering Calculations

While there is no one method for computing pain and suffering, many use a calculation based on the dollar amount of your medical expenses. The reasoning behind this method is that when your injury is serious, the dollar amount of your medical expenses will rise dramatically. Your general sense of well-being is considered a correlation with your medical issues. For example, if you had to have surgery as a result of your injuries, you will not only find your medical costs have skyrocketed, but that recovering from surgery has increased your discomfort exponentially.

Other Factors

While your medical expenses are key, other factors will go into the amount you are offered for your pain and suffering. For example, other factors include:

1. The amount of fault you share with the other driver.
2. Your age, education level, employment, family situation, etc
3. Other compensation in similar cases in your local area.

Speak to an auto accident attorney to get a better idea of what your pain and suffering could be worth.