Pain and suffering can include physical pain, emotional anguish, psychological distress, and certain other challenges. You might prove your pain and suffering using medical records, testimony from doctors and mental health professionals, your own testimony, witness accounts of your pain and suffering, and perhaps other forms of documentation.
Lawyers are uniquely fit to help prove your pain and suffering. Many cases that Zephyrhills personal injury attorneys handle involve pain and suffering. Allow a lawyer to document your pain and suffering, pursue fair compensation for you, and manage every other aspect of your case.
What “Pain and Suffering” Can Mean
The term “pain and suffering” can refer to several different challenges. These challenges are often grouped together because they do not have a clear financial value (like medical bills and lost income do).
Some examples of damages that can qualify as pain and suffering are:
- Physical pain, including both short-term and chronic pain
- Physical discomfort, which can include injuries that affect your neurological system
- Anxiety
- Depression
- Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
- Lost quality of life
- Sleep problems
- Physical disfigurement, such as scarring and amputation injuries
- Thoughts of self-harm
- Cognitive problems
- Loss of physical abilities
- Grief (in the case of a wrongful death)
In many cases, one type of pain and suffering contributes to another. For example, if someone suffered an amputation injury in a car accident, you might expect them to become depressed.
Each person’s pain and suffering is unique to them. Your attorney will listen to you, speak with qualified mental health experts, and take any other measures that provide insight into your pain and suffering.
How Your Personal Injury Lawyer May Prove Your Pain and Suffering
You might be keenly aware of some types of pain and suffering. Physical pain is difficult to ignore, for example. However, your attorney may alert you to some types of pain and suffering you’re not aware of, all while they document each of your challenges.
Some ways that your attorney may uncover and document your pain and suffering are:
Asking You the Right Questions
Some questions you might hear from your lawyer are:
- Are you experiencing any physical pain or discomfort?
- Have you noticed any cognitive symptoms, such as memory loss?
- Has your outlook or mood diminished?
- Are you sleeping regularly?
- Are you noticing any other emotional, psychological, or physical symptoms?
These questions will fall within the context of the event for which you hire a lawyer, such as a car crash, slip and fall, or any other unexpected accident. With the right questions, your lawyer may help you think differently about—and even become aware of—your pain and suffering.
Arranging for You to See a Mental Health Professional
A primary care doctor, psychologist, or other medical professional may provide formal diagnoses of your pain and suffering. These diagnoses can be critical to your case because liable parties may try to challenge your pain and suffering. Of course, being diagnosed accurately is just as important for your recovery and well-being.
Because personal injury lawyers often represent clients who face pain and suffering, attorneys often know mental health service providers in their area. Hiring a lawyer will give you access to the mental health services you need.
Speaking with Your Doctors
Some types of pain and suffering, including physical pain, will be most accurately diagnosed by a medical professional. Therefore, your lawyer may document some types of pain and suffering by:
- Speaking directly with your doctor about your symptoms that qualify as pain and suffering
- Collecting any medical images and records that detail your pain
- Arranging for any additional evaluations you need
- Having one or more medical professionals testify about your pain and suffering
Lawyers and doctors are often friendly, as attorneys rely on medical professionals to build their cases. For this reason, your lawyer may already have multiple medical experts in their network who can assist with your case.
Gathering Medical Records
A doctor’s insights and testimony can be complementary to medical records, which may include:
- Images of physical injuries (such as X-rays and CT scans)
- Test results
- Your doctors’ written notes
- Bills for medical services
Lawyers are proficient in medical jargon and concepts, as they see many injured clients on a regular basis. Let your legal team deal with doctors, document your pain and suffering, and also manage every other detail of your case.
It may be difficult to know what exactly qualifies as pain and suffering. For example, you might think you’re suffering from normal worries when, in fact, you’re experiencing persistent concerns that qualify as anxiety. Let a lawyer help you. They will delicately handle your pain and suffering as they put together your case for compensation.
Circumstances That Can Cause You Pain and Suffering (and Lead You to Hire a Lawyer)
Pain and suffering primarily result from injuries, wrongful deaths, and sickness. This means that you might experience pain and suffering if you or a loved one are involved in:
- Animal attacks
- Nursing home neglect and abuse
- Sexual abuse or other types of abuse or neglect
- Car accidents
- Truck accidents
- Pedestrian accidents
- Motorcycle accidents
- Rideshare accidents
- Bus accidents
- Bicycle accidents
- Scooter accidents
- Boat accidents
- Slip and falls
- Trip and falls
- Sexual abuse
If you are exposed to a toxic or otherwise dangerous product or a toxic environment, this may also cause you pain and suffering—either immediately or eventually. A lawyer will evaluate the circumstances of your pain and suffering and explain whether you have grounds for an insurance claim or lawsuit.
How Your Attorney May Calculate the Cost of Your Pain and Suffering
When you want to know the cost of medical care, you might simply add up the total cost of your medical bills. Calculating the financial cost of pain and suffering is not so simple.
Attorneys use a couple of methods to calculate pain and suffering, which are:
- The multiplier method: With this method, your lawyer will determine the cost of your damages with a more obvious financial value, such as medical expenses and lost income. Then, your attorney will multiply the total value of those “economic” damages by a certain number, say 1, 1.5, or two. The total of this multiplication will be the value of your pain and suffering. The multiplier they use will likely depend on the severity of your pain and suffering.
- The per-diem method: “Per diem” means “per day,” and with this method, your attorney will assign a daily monetary value to your pain and suffering. They will then total the number of days for which you’re dealing with the pain and suffering.
A lawyer might have several reasons for using one method or the other. Feel free to ask your attorney how they calculate pain and suffering, and even why they use the method, if you’re interested.
Damages You Might Face in Addition to Your Pain and Suffering
When someone approaches a lawyer about their pain and suffering, they typically deal with other damages, too. Some damages that personal injury lawyers often see among their clients are:
Healthcare Costs
Because pain and suffering often result from injury and illness, medical costs often come along with pain and suffering. Your attorney will factor all medical costs into the case, whether it’s the cost of emergency services, diagnostic procedures (like medical imaging), surgery, hospitalization, rehabilitation, or other care.
Professional Harm
Those who experience pain and suffering often face professional damages, sometimes as a direct result of the pain and suffering. Such professional damages may include:
- Lost income
- Lost earning capacity
- Inability to earn bonuses, promotions, and other financial and career opportunities
- Lost benefits
- Total loss of your ability to work
Your profession may be essential to who you are. Losing your ability to work at full capacity may affect you not just financially but emotionally and psychologically, too. Your attorney will account for this possibility when valuing your professional damages.
Property Costs
Some cases involve property damages, with auto accidents being the most common example. If you need to repair property, replace property, secure temporary transportation, or cover any other property-related costs, your lawyer will demand that liable parties pay you accordingly.
Being Disabled
Those who experience disabled injuries face sudden, daunting challenges that can include:
- Physical disability
- Cognitive disability
- Total loss of earning power
- Depression
- Caregiver costs
- Housing costs
- Medical equipment
- Rehabilitation costs
Generally speaking, disabling injuries are more costly than non-disabling injuries. If you are disabled, your lawyer will identify all the effects of your serious health condition and seek fair compensation for you.
The Cost of a Wrongful Death
Losing a loved one is the worst circumstance that you can face, and it’s the most heartbreaking reality that lawyers encounter. Some of the costs of losing a loved one can include:
- Loss of consortium, which can include the loss of a spouse’s companionship
- Lost financial support
- Loss of the deceased person’s role in their household
- Funeral expenses
Of course, a wrongful death causes severe pain and suffering, including grief. Lawyers account for emotional, psychological, financial, and other losses when representing those affected by a loved one’s passing.
Your case type will be a key consideration in the damages you’re facing. Someone who is injured in a car accident might have damages—like vehicle repairs—that a victim of nursing home abuse does not (and vice versa). The benefit of an attorney is that they will be focused on you, so they will create a comprehensive record of your damages.
Once Your Lawyer Knows the Cost of Your Pain and Suffering, They’ll Seek Fair Payment for You
Understanding your damages is important. However, knowing is just the first step towards justice. Your lawyer will build a case and ultimately demand the compensation you deserve.
Some of the steps you can expect your lawyer to take on your behalf are:
Determining Who Has Caused Your Pain and Suffering (and Other Damages)
This is called “proving liability” for your damages. Your attorney may determine and prove liability by relying on the following:
- Experts’ opinions
- Videos and photographs
- Witness accounts
- Your account of how you came to suffer harm
Attorneys know how to collect, analyze, and interpret evidence and information through the lens of a personal injury case. Securing evidence is an immensely time-sensitive responsibility, so hiring your lawyer soon is important.
Proving Your Pain and Suffering (and Other Damages)
Your attorney will use every available resource to prove your pain and suffering. They might also use medical records, employment records, financial documents, expert testimony, and other means to prove your other damages.
Determining the Financial Value of Your Case
Pain and suffering have a cost, and so will your other damages. It’s your attorney’s job to determine what that cost is and convince liable parties to cover it.
Pursuing the Compensation You Are Entitled To
Personal injury lawyers typically first pursue compensation for their clients by seeking a settlement. They may also secure compensation by winning a judgment at trial.
Each case has its own unique path. Your lawyer will make sure you’re informed about your case plan and any potential changes to that plan.
Handling Communications, Paperwork, and All Other Duties for You
Hiring a lawyer is meant to lift a weight off your shoulders. You won’t have to deal with insurance companies—or any other aspect of your case, for that matter. Let your attorney and their team do the work for you.
How to Find Your Personal Injury Lawyer (and Find Them Today)
You might find your lawyer by:
- Searching for “personal injury lawyer near me” online
- Reading reviews for law firms in your area
- Consider the case results each firm has secured
- Investigate any recommendations you receive from those you trust
Most personal injury lawyers offer free consultations to prospective clients. These no-cost meetings allow you to learn more about firms, gaining firsthand experience before retaining your lawyer. Take advantage of these opportunities.
There can be a deadline for filing your case. Do not wait to hire your personal injury lawyer so they can seek justice for your pain and suffering.
Nicolette R. Nicoletti
Managing Partner
Nicolette R. Nicoletti is the founder and managing partner of the Nicoletti Accident Injury Lawyers. She was born and raised in New Port Richey, Florida. Nicolette attended Genesis Preparatory School and graduated salutatorian of her class. She then went onto Saint Leo University for her undergraduate education. She graduated magna cum laude from the Honors Program with a Bachelor’s degree in Political Science. While at Saint Leo University, Nicolette was President of Pi Sigma Alpha (Political Science Honor Society), Secretary of Alpha Phi Sigma (Criminal Justice Honor Society), and an active member of Delta Epsilon Sigma (National Scholastic Honor Society).
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