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.