Under Pennsylvania law, you have the right to pursue compensation from the responsible party for your pain and suffering. The subjective nature of pain and suffering complicates the legal process. By understanding how Pennsylvania law defines pain and suffering and the legal process to claim a settlement, you can ensure fair compensation for the physical and mental trauma associated with your injury. Within this post, we’ll present a guide to suing for pain and suffering in Pennsylvania.
Pain and Suffering Defined
Under Pennsylvania law, pain and suffering refers to the physical and emotional distress you experience due to someone else’s negligence.
The definition covers the physical limitations associated with your injuries and the emotional impact of those limitations. A recent study found only 55% of personal injury claims patients experienced clinically relevant improvement in pain with treatment. Proving your level of pain and linking your pain with deficits in your day-to-day life can help ensure fair compensation for any potential ongoing symptoms.
Proving Pain and Suffering with Tangible Evidence
Unlike claiming medical expenses, you won’t be able to provide an itemized list of your pain and suffering to highlight the extent of your physical and emotional damages. However, specific forms of evidence can illuminate the obstacles you’ve faced and continue to face during your injury recovery. This evidence includes:
- Expert Testimony
Your doctors are crucial advocates in helping you claim pain and suffering damages. They can bring credibility to your case and highlight your initial diagnosis and future prognosis to show the pain the typical patient with your injury will experience. Within their testimony, the expert can highlight your treatments, potential future surgical interventions, and the difficulties you’ll face as you recover.
- Photographs
Photographs can provide compelling insights into the pain and suffering a victim experiences after an accident. Providing the insurance adjuster and their settlement negotiation team photographs from the day of the accident and then cataloging your recovery with photographic evidence can help illustrate your pain and anguish.
- Medical Records
Medical records from your initial visit to the doctor and your ongoing treatments provide tangible data to your claim for pain and suffering damages. Submitting all medical records related to your recovery will show how many times you’ve seen doctors and highlight the comments from the attending doctor regarding your condition at that time and your level of physical pain.
- Pain tracking
In addition to working with your medical team, you can enhance the likelihood of a higher pain and suffering personal injury settlement by tracking your pain with a journal throughout your recovery.
Write a few sentences every day about how your injury and associated pain have impacted your life. Try to include the time and date, and note any changes in your pain levels during your recovery.
The Factors Involved in Calculating Pain and Suffering Damages
Whether your case settles in negotiations with your insurance company or with a courtroom verdict, the process for calculating pain and suffering damage will be similar. The factors involved in the calculation include:
- The severity of your physical injuries
Severe physical injuries will require extensive rehabilitation and involve significant pain and suffering. Injury severity is primarily measured based on the limitations injuries cause and the length of time in your recovery process.
- Your age
In most cases, younger victims receive higher amounts for pain and suffering due to years of life impacted by the injury.
- How your injuries affect your ability to perform routine tasks
What limitations does your injury impose upon you in the short and long term? Also, can you enjoy the same level of comfort as before the injury? These are the questions insurance adjusters and judges will address in evaluating pain and suffering damages.
- Whether you’ve suffered a disfiguring injury
The courts and insurance companies will also consider scars and other disfigurements when evaluating pain and suffering damages.
Mental health professionals can help support you and advocate for you in settlement negotiations to highlight the devastating emotional impact of a disfigurement.
- Whether your injuries are temporary or permanent
Your medical team will also be crucial in providing a clear prognosis for your injuries. Your chances of a full recovery are a consideration. So is the stress and pain of any associated rehabilitation process.
The Multiplier Method
The Multiplier Method is one of the most commonly agreed upon ways to calculate pain and suffering damages. The Method links a specific figure with your current, ongoing, and future pain and suffering. Your lawyer and the insurance company choose a number between 1.5 and 5 based on the severity of your injuries.
Finalizing a settlement figure with the multiplier method involves multiplying the economic damages from your medical expenses and income losses.
In the example of a relatively minor slip and fall case involving economic damages of $10,000, the insurance company and your legal team might agree on a multiplier of 1.5 for your pain and suffering for a total settlement of $25,000.
(10,000 x 1.5 = $15,000, so $10,000 for medical expenses plus $15,000 for pain and suffering comes to a total settlement of $25,000).
Your personal injury lawyer is crucial in advocating for a higher multiplier. They should have significant experience negotiating pain and suffering compensation with insurance adjusters.
Call Jeffrey Penneys to Discuss Your Pain and Suffering Compensation
Jeffrey Penneys has over 30 years of experience advocating for personal injury victims throughout Pennsylvania. He can help you navigate the steps to claim pain and suffering compensation. His approach ensures you receive a fair settlement for the turmoil and anguish you face during your injury recovery.
Whether you’re currently in a battle with the insurance companies for a settlement or you’re exploring legal options after a recent accident injury, call Philly Personal Injury Lawyer Jeffrey Penneys for a free consultation via (215) 771-0430. Or book your consultation online. No win, no fee – guaranteed!