In any personal injury case, you have the legal right to payment for all the ways the accident affected you, whether it is an actual financial loss or a subjective impact.
Pain and suffering are significant components of your non-economic damages, and you must prove them to obtain compensation for them.
When you hire a personal injury attorney to represent you, they can present your claim to the insurance company or your case to the jury.
Pain and Suffering Damages Measure Your Individual Experience
The problem with pain and suffering damages is that they depend on what you report as your own experience. Nobody else sees and feels what you do to understand what you endure daily.
However, insurance companies do not want a window into your feelings and experiences because it will cost them more money. They have no interest in hearing what you say because it may force them to write a larger check.
You Must Prove All of Your Damages
Nonetheless, you still have the burden of proof to demonstrate your damages, and a “take my word for it” approach will not persuade the insurance company. Insurance companies want to see something that takes the subjective into the objective realm and insist on examining things in black and white as much as possible. They take this approach because they know that listening to your individual story means they might have to pay you significant compensation.
How the Insurance Company Tries to Determine Pain and Suffering Damages
With that in mind, insurance companies will try to act objectively when addressing an inherently subjective topic.
They will use one of two methods to calculate your pain and suffering damages:
- Insurance companies use the per diem method when you have a temporary injury from which you will eventually recover. You will receive a certain amount of money for each day the injury affects you, depending on its severity.
- Insurance companies use the multiplier method when you have a longer-term injury. They will multiply your total medical expenses by a certain number to determine your pain and suffering damages.
How You Can Demonstrate Your Pain and Suffering Damages
If you want to tell a different story about your pain and suffering damages, you need evidence to prove your side of the story. You may struggle to document your individual injury experience. You know exactly how you feel daily, but need a lawyer to persuade someone else of that, especially when that company has every motivation in the world not to listen to you.
Medical records can prove some of your pain and suffering, but you need far more to keep insurance companies from reaching their own conclusions. There should be specific impacts of your injuries that insurance companies assume because of the severity, but they are not about to try to connect any of the dots in your favor.
Therefore, you must capture as much evidence of your daily life since the injury as possible. Everything begins with how you relate your symptoms and what you endured.
It is one thing to say that you have suffered continuously. However, it is another thing to have extensive evidence in the form of notes and journals that detail your daily condition since the accident.
You may also have friends and family members testify on your behalf, or you can include their statements with your claim. They can describe what they have seen you go through personally since your accident injuries.
If you are dealing with any depression or anxiety since your accident, you need to seek help from a mental health professional. Not only can they help you process and work through your issues, but they can also provide you with treatment notes that detail their observations. A licensed professional’s word may carry some weight with insurance companies when they see it on paper.
You Do Not Have to Accept an Inadequate Settlement Offer
The insurance claims process is deliberative, wherein you negotiate with the insurance company to reach a settlement agreement. No matter how much insurance companies want to try to dictate a figure to you, they do not have that power.
If insurance companies try to impose their own number for your pain and suffering damages, you can push back. You do not have a legal obligation to accept a settlement offer because you can decide whether you want to agree to it. You should reject any settlement offer that does not reflect your reality or fully compensate you for all aspects of your injuries.
In the end, if the insurance company does not see things your way when it comes to pain and suffering damages, you can always take your case to a jury for it to make a decision. Still, the jury members will also need to see and hear evidence of what your life has been like because you need to persuade them about the severity of your injuries.
Hire an Experienced Personal Injury Lawyer for Your Case
Determining adequate compensation for your physical and emotional distress can be challenging without the help of a legal professional.
The best way to make a case for the maximum amount of pain and suffering damages is to hire an experienced personal injury lawyer for your case. They can gather proof, consult medical experts, and calculate the long-term impact of your injuries.
Your attorney will also ensure you document your damages and tell your story to an insurance company or jury. If you must file a lawsuit, your personal injury lawyer will represent you in court.
Do not let the hardships from your accident overwhelm you. Hiring a personal injury lawyer will ease your burden and increase your chances of receiving the compensation you deserve. With their support, you can focus on your recovery while they handle the legal aspects of your claim.