Broken bones, head injuries, and medical treatments can be painful and emotionally damaging. Pain and suffering is the legal term used to describe the emotional harm you experienced as a result of physical injuries.
Arkansas personal injury laws account for this type of loss, which means that you can pursue compensation for pain and suffering damages. However, proving it is more subjective than other measurable losses like medical expenses, lost work wages, and property damage. An Arkansas personal injury lawyer will help you understand what you might be able to receive in pain and suffering damages.
When are Pain & Suffering Damages Applicable in a Personal Injury Claim?
For you to receive pain and suffering damages, you must have incurred an injury. In general, you can file a pain and suffering damages claim in conjunction with the following types of compensation requests:
- Medical expenses
- Occupational therapy
- Property damage
- Mental anguish
- Loss of enjoyment of life
- Scarring and disfigurement
- Punitive damages
- Other injuries, as allowable by law
As you can see, proving the majority of these damages relies upon your ability to provide an invoice or receipt, which is relatively straightforward. However, pain and suffering is not measurable and requires a different strategy on the part of your Arkansas personal injury lawyer.
Pain and suffering damages are difficult to prove because no one else can explain exactly what you went through. Your personal injury lawyer, with his or her network of expert witnesses, may use a case strategy that aims to demonstrate how your life changed after your accident.
In general, pain and suffering damages are only available through a civil court lawsuit and not a standard insurance claim. However, your lawyer may be able to demonstrate the likelihood of your winning these damages in court and negotiate a portion of that amount into your claim. This may prompt your insurance company to settle rather than go to trial.
Calculating Arkansas Pain & Suffering Damages
Your attorney will explain how much you might be able to claim for your personal injury losses based on a multiplier of your economic damages. However, assigning a monetary amount to your pain and suffering is a challenge since they are difficult to prove. It is also essential to recognize that the facts and circumstances of every case are unique, which means that you may not receive the same amount that someone else won in a similar situation.
The devil is certainly in the details in an Arkansas personal injury claim, and you can reasonably expect that they will all be uncovered during the claims process. Your Arkansas personal injury lawyer will work toward explaining the effects that the injury had on your life.
He or she may describe:
- Your inability to care for yourself
- Chronic pain
- Disabilities
- Loss of enjoyment of life
- Loss of intimacy
- Other circumstances as applicable
Your attorney may ask you or your family members to keep a personal journal with relevant dates that speak to the impact that the accident has on your life. (Personal journals are admissible as evidence in court.) Using clear examples of how your life has changed may be the push that a judge or jury needs to agree to award you pain and suffering damages at the civil court level.
Contact an Arkansas Personal Injury Lawyer Today
When you are hurt, your focus should be on your health, not on proving pain and suffering in court. The legal team at Milligan Law Offices is here to help you.
There is a limited time to file an Arkansas personal injury claim after an accident, which means that it is critical to act now rather than later. You do not want insurance companies to get away with not paying your benefits based on a technicality.
You or your loved ones can contact us for a free case evaluation today by calling (479) 783-2213 or submitting a message through our private contact form. Milligan Law Offices takes cases on a contingency fee basis, which means that we do not request an up-front retainer to win your claim. Instead, we only receive our attorneys’ fees when we recover compensation for you.
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