By: Arthur Cooper
Submitted: 2010-07-28 11:49:38 | Word Count: 664
Pain and suffering claims are probably one of the most complicated matters in the legal world. First of all, it is extremely difficult to assign a money value on pain or suffering. Let’s put it like this—how much would you pay to lose a leg? The question is near impossible to answer, as very few people would make the conscious decision to do so. This is because the full functionality of your body is inherently priceless. This makes putting a price on the injury or impairment of your body very difficult. On top of the obvious challenges of determining an appropriate financial figure for a pain and suffering settlement claim, there is the additional subjectivity of the issue. For example, let’s look at a situation with the same exact, relatively simple and curable injury-- two people break a leg. One person is in second grade, has to be in a wheelchair for a while, but heals in time for summer vacation, suffering no long term repercussions. However, imagine that the other person is a professional gymnast training for their last chance at an Olympic title. The consequences of this injury are much more severe, so this person would likely be awarded additional damages.
In the above scenario, the two people suffered the same physical injury and, for all intents and purposes, suffered the same physical effects. It was their life situations that made the difference. As another example, consider two people in a car wreck who suffer back injuries. A young, healthy adult who sustains a back injury will be able to heal much more quickly than an elderly person who has had prior back surgeries and pre-existing back conditions. There are a wide variety of factors considered in a pain and suffering settlement. A few of them are marital and family status, pre-existing conditions, what they do for a living, their reaction to the injuries and how consistent their reactions are with the expected reaction, the effect the injury had on their day to day life, and so on and so forth.
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Something else to take into consideration is the emotional and mental effect that the injury had on the victim. In the first example involving the professional gymnast who broke their leg, the injury not only had a physical effect as well as a financial effect (as it would hinder that person from doing the work they had previously done), it could very well cause mental suffering as well. In many cases, just the stress of the prolonged healing process (doctor visits, surgeries and the fear and stress that come with them, trial and error of finding proper treatment, etc.) is enough to warrant additional damages for emotional suffering.
Last but not least, the amount of damages an individual receives in a pain and suffering settlement will always depend on their responsibility for the accident. If you’re thinking of filing a pain and suffering settlement claim, you will want to consult a lawyer who can walk you through the process of determining your liability for the occurrence of the accident and help you to figure out the amount of damages you may be entitled to receive. After all, in a stressful situation like this, it always helps to have at least one person trying to help you.
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