Written by Mackenzie Saunders:
In a successful personal injury lawsuit, an injured person is typically awarded compensation for three main types of expenses: medical costs, lost wages, and pain and suffering. The settlement money will cover medical expenses such as past medical bills, future medical bills, and medical equipment. Also, since many people who are catastrophically injured miss work due to their injuries, a successful personal injury lawsuit will also award an injured person money for their lost wages and lost capacity to work.
The third category of personal injury compensation is pain and suffering. Compensation for pain and suffering is incredibly important in catastrophic injury cases, especially in spinal cord injury lawsuits. Read below to learn more about pain and suffering compensation and why it is essential for people with new spinal cord injuries.
What Is Pain and Suffering Compensation?
Pain and suffering is a legal term for the physical and emotional pain a person endures due to their injuries. A person can be awarded money for the pain and suffering they experienced because of their injury, especially if their injury is catastrophic. Pain and suffering compensation includes money for aspects such as emotional suffering, loss of comfort, physical pain, and loss of companionship due to an injury.
In a successful personal injury lawsuit, pain and suffering compensation can range from thousands of dollars, to hundreds of thousands of dollars, to over one million dollars. The amount a person receives in pain and suffering compensation depends on the severity of their injury, along with the experience of their legal team. Hiring an experienced, fierce catastrophic injury lawyer can maximize your chances of receiving a large sum of pain and suffering compensation.
Why Is Pain and Suffering Compensation Important in Spinal Cord Injury Cases?
Spinal cord injuries are, more often than not, lifelong injuries that affect a person’s everyday quality of life. Because spinal cord injuries typically result in lifelong paralysis and health complications, pain and suffering compensation for spinal cord injury lawsuits can be incredibly high compared to other personal injury lawsuits. If you have an experienced legal team, you can receive millions of dollars in pain and suffering compensation.
Receiving as much money as possible through a spinal cord injury lawsuit is incredibly important, because spinal cord injuries are expensive. You should not have to suffer financially because of your injuries. Pain and suffering compensation can maximize your chances of receiving a large sum of money that will help you cover your spinal cord injury expenses throughout your entire life.
How Do You Calculate Pain and Suffering?
Pain and suffering compensation is much more difficult to quantify than medical expenses and lost wages. Since emotional anguish and physical pain are not fixed costs, it is up to your legal team to determine how much pain and suffering compensation you need and deserve. Your experienced spinal cord injury legal team will determine how much money you can receive in pain and suffering compensation through one of two methods: the multiplier method and the per diem method. Through the multiplier method, your lawyer will multiply your medical expenses and lost wages by a certain number based on the severity of your injuries. Through the per diem method, your lawyer can ask the court to award you a fixed amount of money per day until you make a full recovery. The multiplier method is more common in spinal cord injury cases.
Calculating pain and suffering for spinal cord injury cases can be difficult, especially if your lawyer does not have a full understanding of spinal cord injuries. Hiring an experienced spinal cord injury legal team is essential to securing the compensation you need. The Spinal Cord Injury Law Firm is run by people with spinal cord injuries, for people with spinal cord injuries. We understand catastrophic injuries, and we will fight for you to receive as much compensation as possible. If you have sustained a spinal cord injury or another catastrophic injury, contact us today at 1-877-SCI-FIRM or at kelley@spinalcordinjurylawyers.com.
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