Pain and suffering is one of the damages that you can be awarded if you have been injured and are seeking compensation for your injuries. Pain and suffering is one of the most important damages that you can recover. While medical expenses that you have incurred are simply to calculate, the untold and immeasurable impact that your injury has had on your life is more difficult to place a monetary number on. One of the most important things that working with a personal injury attorney can do for your case is making sure that you recover an adequate amount of monetary damages to cover the profound and life-changing difference that being injured has made on your life.
Pain & Suffering in Personal Injury Claims
There are two different types of pain and suffering that are covered in the overall award. The first pain and suffering is the physical trauma your body has suffered relayed to the accident, and the way that this will further impact the way you exist in your body. The second is mental pain and suffering and how being injured has influenced your enjoyment of life, relationships with others, and more. This is both the amount that has been suffered until the current point in time, but also the continuing pain and suffering that you will experience for the remainder of your life.
While working with a personal injury attorney can have a drastic impact on the amount of pain and suffering damages you may recover, the court will also consider:
- Criminal record
- Diagnosis, injuries, and other claims
- Likeability
- Credibility
- Statement of a physician
- Consistency of claims
The judge and jury do not have a consistent, across-the-board means of determining a pain and suffering award, meaning that it is usually up to the juries to decide what seems reasonable. Because this award can vary so drastically, making sure that you have a lawyer by your side is your best offensive strategy. At Smith & Stallworth, Attorneys at Law, our lawyers pride themselves on fighting to the end to recover the amount of money our clients are entitled to. Learn more about working with our Tampa lawyers by calling our offices to schedule your free case consultation.