What Does Pain And Suffering Cover In A Boston Personal Injury Case?

A personal injury accident has many repercussions, but claimants have the option to pursue damages that make up for all of their losses, including pain and suffering. Unlike medical expenses or car damage, which may have records to support them in court, pain and suffering is a non-economic damage and doesn’t have an explicit monetary value. For those unfamiliar with non-economic damages, it may be unclear what exactly pain and suffering covers in a personal injury case.

Having a personal injury lawyer advocate on your behalf may be the best way to ensure you receive compensation that adequately covers these losses. The personal injury attorneys at Sweeney Merrigan Personal Injury Lawyers have the knowledge to secure the money you require for all your losses, including intangible ones like pain and suffering. Call 617-391-9001 or use our contact form to get in touch with us.

What Kind of Damages Fall Under Pain and Suffering?

Pain and suffering encompass a wide variety of physical or mental repercussions of accident-related injuries that the accident has brought on the victim. These losses are entirely subjective, meaning that only the sufferer can describe the suffering and its effects. As a result, they cannot always be easily expressed in terms of monetary values.

Pain and suffering may include current and future repercussions of being injured like the following:

• Physical pain: damage to your body that causes minor to severe discomfort
• Physical impairment: when your injury makes it difficult for you to move, coordinate your movements, or carry out basic daily tasks
• Mental anguish: mental suffering that includes the distress, fear, anxiety, sadness, depression, or emotional trauma you experience brought on by an accident
• Loss of quality of life: your ability to enjoy or participate in life as you did before an accident, such as if you lost a limb or became paralyzed
• Loss of enjoyment of life: when any injuries caused by an accident significantly alter your life or your capacity to engage in activities or hobbies you enjoyed before the accident
• Shock: psychological harm brought on by seeing an accident happen or by being hurt during an accident
• Disfigurement: when an injury permanently alters a person’s body or physical characteristics, such as giving them lifelong facial scars

Numerous other feelings of emotional distress that an accident victim may experience may also be covered by pain and suffering damages.

How Are Pain and Suffering Damages Calculated?

In some places, insurance companies employ a formula that multiplies your other damages by a multiplier to calculate pain and suffering damages. When a multiplier is applied in personal injury cases, the claimant’s special damages—which include the injured party’s entire medical expenses and lost wages—are multiplied by a number that may range from 1.5 to 4. The multiplier premise does not apply in all personal injury situations, though, and is merely a very rough approximation.

When cases go to trial, juries might be told to weigh how much their own suffering would be worth in your situation. Judges rarely provide juries with rules for calculating the value of pain and suffering in a personal injury case. In many jurisdictions, judges only direct juries to use their common sense, knowledge, and experience to determine what would be a fair and reasonable sum for the plaintiff’s pain and suffering.

When seeking to put a monetary value on your pain and suffering damages, juries may take into account many variables, such as:

• The severity of your injuries
• Medical procedures required to treat your injuries
• The Intensity of your pain
• Your injury’s potential long-term effects
• Your range of motion
• The extent to which your earning capacity is reduced
• How your injury has affected your family

A personal injury lawyer may be able to assist you in understanding and addressing any potential pain and suffering in your case. They can more accurately evaluate your claim and calculate your damages. They can also advocate for you during a trial or settlement negotiations. 

Your Pain and Suffering Claim May Benefit From Our Services

To better understand your pain and suffering damages, reach out to Sweeney Merrigan Personal Injury Lawyers. Our firm works hard to help accident victims obtain the compensation that sufficiently covers their damages in personal injury claims and talks with insurance companies. Our lawyers fight for just compensation using their understanding of the actual costs of personal injuries that they have accrued over years of practice. 

As an illustration, Attorney Matthieu J. Parenteau has recovered millions of dollars for numerous clients and was named a Massachusetts’ “Super Lawyer” for 2021. He has devoted his professional life to assisting those wronged by others’ negligence and has defended both individuals and families in numerous personal injury cases.

Contact Knowledgeable Boston Personal Injury Lawyers to Discuss Your Pain and Suffering Claim

For some damages, assigning a monetary value to what you’ve experienced is challenging. You may benefit from knowledgeable legal counsel from a firm that has served clients for more than 45 years. For decades, Sweeney Merrigan Personal Injury Lawyers has represented personal injury accident victims. 

When we represent you, we may be able to evaluate your injury and establish what might be regarded as pain and suffering damages in your case. While you focus on getting better from your injuries, we can handle every part of your case, from settlement talks to trial. Call us at 617-391-9001 or use our contact form to schedule a free case evaluation with a member of our team.