Three million people are injured in car accidents every year in the US. If you are injured in a car accident that isn’t your fault, the at-fault driver’s insurance company will pay for the damages. But, insurance companies often don’t pay for the total cost of your pain and suffering.
Car accidents aren’t the only accidents where you can receive compensation. If you suffer an injury at no fault of your own, you probably wonder what you can do to recover damages for your pain and suffering. A pain and suffering lawsuit can help you recover total compensation.
Read on to see what a pain and suffering lawsuit includes and how to file one.
What Are Pain and Suffering
In legal terms, pain and suffering are any physical or mental anguish resulting from a personal injury. It’s claimed in cases where the individual injured is not at fault for the accident. There are damages you can claim in a pain and suffering lawsuit include serious physical injuries, mental trauma like anxiety and PTSD, and any loss of income.
How to File a Pain and Suffering Lawsuit
Pain and suffering lawsuits are typically filed against the at-fault party’s insurance company. To receive the most compensation for your pain and suffering, you must be proactive in handling your claim. Follow these essential steps when filing a pain and suffering lawsuit.
Keep Records of Doctors Visits
An essential part of any pain and suffering claim is your evidence proving pain and suffering. Your best chance to prove pain and suffering is to have documentation from medical professionals that detail your physical or mental anguish. So you’ll want to keep all records of your medical visits and treatments to receive compensation.
Hire a Lawyer
In pain and suffering cases, it’s best to hire an expert to get a better outcome for your case. A pain and suffering lawyer can help prove who is at fault and help organize your evidence. They can negotiate with the insurance company and represent you in court if your case goes to trial.
File a Claim Early
Some pain and suffering from an accident may not become apparent until months or years later. But, in personal injury cases, you have to file a claim by a deadline to receive compensation. So, it is essential to get checked out after an accident to record pain and suffering related to the accident and file a claim as soon as possible.
How Is Pain and Suffering Calculated
There are several ways to calculate your case’s value.
The multiplier method takes your economic losses like medical bills and multiplies them by a number between 1.5 and five. The multiplier is determined by the level of pain and suffering you have proven to endure after an accident.
The Per Diem method establishes a dollar amount of damages for every day of your pain and suffering. That number is then multiplied by the number of days you have suffered and added to your medical bills to place a value on your pain and suffering.
These two methods often create that is higher than what insurance companies are willing to pay. So insurance companies often use an algorithm to calculate a pain and suffering settlement for your case. They use information from thousands of other settlements to give a generic number that leaves out your specific circumstances.
Get Full Compensation for Your Personal Injury
When injured in an accident that is not your fault, you should be compensated for all damages you incurred. Insurance companies will do everything in their power to pay you a minimal settlement. But filing a pain and suffering lawsuit, you give yourself a chance to recover the total value of your injuries.
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