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Pain and Suffering in Personal Injury Litigation
The term is familiar to one and all, and certainly the concept more than applies to the injuries sustained in accidents leading up to personal injury law suits. But what is the legal definition of pain and suffering?
A Legal Tenet
In legal terms, pain and suffering is the distress - physical or emotional - caused by personal injury. Mental and physical anguish is considered pain and suffering. Pain and suffering includes, but is not limited to, the loss of use of a body part, loss of consort with a spouse, annoyance, embarrassment, depression, the potential shortening of life span, and other ills.
The idea of pain and suffering forms a basis for claims to compensation owed in a lawsuit that goes above and beyond just reasonable medical treatment and attorney's fees. Pain and suffering damages are considered to be "special damages"; that is, they are awarded on top of and separately from damages for future medical care, medical bills, lost wages, and other compensable damages. While the concept of pain and suffering can seem abstract or vague, it is put into actual quantifiable terms through personal injury lawsuits that seek to put a dollar figure on distress.
Vague Claims; Real-Life Compensation
It would seem that since it is clearly hard to prove the degree to which pain and suffering affected a litigating party in a personal injury lawsuit, pain and suffering verdicts would be hard to come by. In fact, the opposite is true - pain and suffering awards comprise nearly 50 percent of all monetary awards in personal injury cases. Pain and suffering claims are quite common; in fact, the term "pain and suffering" is virtually boilerplate and appears in nearly every legal complaint, especially those related to personal injury.
Since pain and suffering verdicts are so common, it has been suggested that caps be placed on pain and suffering compensation in law suits. However, given that 95 percent of law suits settle before heading to jury trial, the amount of money paid out in pain and suffering compensation is not so large as capping advocates would like the public to believe. However, some experts link the existence of potential pain and suffering compensation to a rash of illegitimate and frivolous litigation for non-serious complaints. These critics claim that awarding pain and suffering damages simply encourages people to litigate and artificially inflates damages for the entire legal system.
If you believe you have experienced pain and suffering in relation to a personal injury, you may be entitled to monetary compensation through your personal injury claim. Contact an experienced personal injury attorney who can analyze your case and tell you whether you have a valid claim. You may be able to collect pain and suffering damages on top of lost wages and other forms of compensation; however, keep in mind that a personal injury case that is solely based on perceived pain and suffering will be seen as far weaker and less convincing than one that is founded on a basis of actual, quantifiable injury.
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