Determining Pain and Suffering Damages for Victims of Personal Injury

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Every personal injury victim is entitled to damages, especially if he or she sustains a significant injury that subsequently affects his or her life in general. To begin with, damages refer to the award given to him or her as a form of compensation for a certain loss. However, before a victim is entitled to such, it is important for him or her to prove that the other party negligently caused him or her that injury.

If you are a victim of a personal injury—car accident, slip and fall, and the like—caused you injuries because of someone else’s negligence, you must know that you must first establish proof in order for you to obtain compensation for the damages you incurred. For this to happen, you must hire a Los Angeles personal injury attorney who can effectively and aggressively handle your case.

For the most part, damages are usually determined in monetary value. In either a court decision or off-court settlement, the party liable for your injuries must provide you with the determined amount of compensation. While compensatory damages usually cover the injured party’s medical treatment, lost income and future earnings, there are damages that are, in essence, not quantified monetarily. Case in point: pain and suffering damages.

This form of compensatory damages refers to the overall physical and emotional trauma that a personal injury victim may have to endure after an accident. Although non-quantifiable, pain and suffering damages are determined nonetheless based on the type and nature of the injury the victim sustained in the accident, as well as the injury’s severity and the pain the victim may have to endure.

As it is, putting a value on pain and suffering is difficult. In determining the monetary value that will comprise the injured victim’s pain and suffering damages, law firms and insurance companies often consider the following:

• The occurrence of a preexisting injury that would prolong the victim’s pain;
• The victim’s tolerance to pain, whether or not he or she can endure it; and
• The victim’s ability to perform basic life activities, or lack thereof.

As a personal injury victim, having a lawyer by your side is very important, since your injury will be evaluated based on your doctor’s findings to help determine if you are entitled to receive compensation for your pain and suffering.

Mother and Two Kids Injured in Panorama City Crash; 70-year-old Driver Fled

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Anybody can (literally) drive a vehicle. Just how hard could that be? You just manipulate a few pedals, a shift stick (or a shifter for automatics), and the steering wheel and you are good to go. The real question is how many people can actually drive vehicles PROPERLY. When getting your driver’s license, you are subjected to many tests, which determine your capability in operating a vehicle while developing the right attitude for driving.

A bad case of hit-and-run

Sadly, a lot of people tend to forget these lessons that they have learned and end up figuring in accidents. What’s worse though is that some people have the audacity to leave their victims behind as if nothing has happened. In Panorama City, California, a mother and her two kids have been treated and are recovering from the injuries they sustained as they were hit by a car. According to reports filed by the authorities, a 70-year-old driver kept driving after hitting a family near Van Nuys Boulevard and Chase Street.

Manning up for one’s responsibilities

Though statistics are yet to prove this, the prevalence of hit-and-run cases reported on local media outfits is quite bothering. In almost every week, incidences where drivers are running from their responsibilities to their victims have been growing. That is why authorities are calling for more responsibility for drivers in the state. More than just being more careful when behind the wheel, people should at least be responsible enough to check on the victims should one get ever involved in an accident.

Reasons for hit-and-runs

Some lessons are learned the hard way. This is what a Los Angeles personal injury lawyer shared as he recalls experiences handling hit-and-run cases. Most of his clients relate to him how overwhelmed they are when it dawned on them the gravity of the responsibility that they will be facing because of the accident. However, this Los Angeles attorney reminded people not to be afraid and instead face their responsibilities as running away from it doesn’t solve their problems but instead worsens their situation. In the end, he reminded drivers to always be careful to avoid accidents, so they won’t ever need to face such huge responsibilities.