In making an estimate of damages to be awarded for pain and suffering, the jury may consider the nature and extent of the injuries and the suffering occasioned by them and their duration or prospective duration. Juries may also consider the age, health, habits, and condition of the injured party before the injury as compared with his or her condition afterwards.
Other significant factors the jury should consider in evaluating pain and suffering include the plaintiff’s use of sedatives and other drugs to relieve pain and their effect, and any aggravation of preexisting disorders. Courts have ruled that the age, sex, and marital status of the plaintiff may affect the amount of damages allowed for pain, suffering, and humiliation resulting from scarring. Thus a child who sustains significant scars on her face may receive a much higher “pain and suffering” award than a married male in his seventies, even if the scarring is the same.
There is no legal requirement that an award for pain and suffering bear any particular relationship to the special damages incurred (such as the medical costs and lost wages).
What Factors Will Be the Most Important For Establishing Pain and Suffering in Your Case?
Because each case is unique, so too are the factors that play a role in establishing pain and suffering. As your attorney, my first objective in documenting pain and suffering is to learn firsthand from you about how your life has been affected by your injuries.
Beyond learning about the physical pain that you have suffered, I want to know in what other ways has your life has suffered. Do you have nightmares from your accident? If you have sustained scarring or disfigurement, how has this affected your view of yourself and how you function in social settings?
Are you able to enjoy the same recreational activities that you engaged in prior to your accident? If you have participated in physical activities prior to sustaining your injuries, such as running, and you are no longer able to do so, this is important information for the jury to consider.
Call Our Firm Today to Schedule A Free, No-Obligation Private Consultation
Once we understand the totality of your life before and after your injuries, we can plan a strategy for introducing evidence at trial as to how your life has been dramatically affected by your injuries so that the jury can consider the true amount of pain and suffering you have endured.
Please call me so that we may get started in establishing your case. I will meet with you for free, and if you retain our firm, we will serve as your lawyers on a contingency fee basis. This means that you will not owe us any fees unless and until we recover for you.