Understanding Pain and Suffering Settlements in Personal Injury Cases (Full Transcript)

Speaker 1: In this video, we will be talking about how to calculate a pain and suffering settlement. Pain and suffering can play an important part in a personal injury case. However, it can be difficult to define. Sometimes known as general damage, it may include an amateur soccer player's loss of ability to play the game they love, or a fiancé whose relationship has been damaged by serious pain and discomfort. Emotional distress may present itself in different ways depending on the individual. There are two main areas of pain and suffering, according to personal injury law. It may include the following, pain and suffering, that's actual pain and discomfort, as well as, physical limitations, not just those at the time of the injury, but also future expected limitations, such as loss of ability to play with children, care for oneself, or a disfigurement. Mental pain and suffering may include depression, mental anguish, anxiety, or other emotional disorders. Loss of consortium, such as the loss of ability to be intimate with your partner. Any other emotional or psychological trauma. Your personal injury lawyer can calculate pain and suffering in a personal injury case. It is their role to demonstrate to a jury, or in settlement proceedings, the value of the pain and suffering. Although personal injury cases are common, there are no charts that juries look at to figure out how much to award. Judges advise juries to use good sense in determining what would be a fair and reasonable amount to compensate for the plaintiff's trauma. A basic, common way to calculate the value of a case is to use a multiple of the actual costs. These may include hospital bills, doctor's fees, lost wages, and damages to property. These damages, often known as special damages, can be found relatively easily. For some, it is simply a matter of adding up the receipts and bills for medical care. However, coming up with a total value of pain and suffering can be a more complicated task. Use of a multiplier is often used to come up with a figure that represents the total pain and suffering from the accident. Remember that pain and suffering includes mental pain, loss of consortium, and any other emotional or psychological trauma. This can be divided into two parts, the pain and suffering that has already happened and the pain and loss that is expected throughout the duration of the injury or the lifetime of the plaintiff. Current pain and suffering has a clear and definite end point. However, current and future pain and suffering must be estimated into the future. When calculating the pain and settlement demand, a personal injury lawyer will convince the insurance adjuster or the jury of the impact the injuries will have on quality of life. To succeed in raising your settlement amounts, you must be able to prove pain and suffering. If the injury caused you to sink into a depression, prove this by showing medical records of treatment by a psychologist or psychiatrist. Aid this by writing a journal that details your symptoms. If you are unable to sleep after the accident, prove this with copies of prescriptions of sleeping pills from a doctor, as well as a sleep journal. No matter the severity of the case, always be prepared to speak about what you lost and how you suffered as a result of the accident. Record a journal during recovery. It will help you accurately represent your injuries in court. Remember to be realistic about your injuries and don't forget to communicate honestly and openly with your attorney. To learn more, visit mcminnlaw.com, where case consultations are always free.