One of the most difficult damages to prove and quantify may be pain and suffering. Since there is no legal method to calculate these damages, and one cannot essentially put a dollar value to someone’s physical and emotional pain, it becomes a challenge to determine what the damages are actually worth. This is where an attorney can help.
Even though no one can say what a person’s pain is worth, attorneys can advise you on how to calculate an estimate. Usually, the worth of the economic damages is multiplied by a number between one and five, depending on the severity of the victim’s pain. Hire an experienced attorney to determine the true value of your accident claim.
Proving physical pain
The best way to prove physical pain is through record keeping. When you visit your physician, you will be asked whether you feel pain in certain parts of your body. They will regularly check your recovery to determine your pain on a scale of one to ten.
The information will be collected by your doctors and included in your medical records. These medical records will be used as evidence when calculating compensation for your pain and suffering.
While tracking pain is mainly your doctor’s job, you can also do your part. You can write down your pain, and which parts of your body are hurting in a journal. You can also describe how the pain fluctuates.
Proving emotional pain
Emotional pain, mental anguish, and stress can be particularly challenging to prove, even for an attorney. Mental anguish can include the following:
- Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD);
- Anxiety;
- Fear;
- Mood swings;
- Cognitive changes;
- Grief;
- Loss/diminishment of your quality of life;
- Insomnia/sleep disturbances;
- Grief;
- Anger;
- Withdrawal;
- Inability to focus;
- Lack of energy; and
- Lack of appetite.
Your attorney can use the multiplier method to calculate the damages, where the total amount of your damages is multiplied by a number between one to five. This is to determine the amount of money you lost each day as a result of your accident.
In order to determine the severity of the victim’s pain and suffering, the following considerations are made:
- How their personal relationships are affected.
- Sleep disturbances, depression, anxiety, PTSD, or other mental problems.
- How the victim’s work life and ability have changed.
- How your ability to enjoy sports, music, or other hobbies has been affected.
- If the victim feels disconnected from their family or other aspects of their life.
