Examples Of Pain And Suffering To Include In Injury Compensation
Personal injury compensation should include pain and suffering damages. You need pain and suffering compensation just as you need compensation for medical bills or lost wages. Below are examples of pain and suffering to include in your claim.
Physical Pain
Pain is your body's way of alerting you that something is wrong. That way, you can take relevant measures (such as rest or treatment) to deal with the problem. Different body parts have nerves that get stimulated by tissue injury. The nerves then transmit the stimuli to the central nervous system, which interprets it as pain.
The government recognizes the physical pain that accident injuries cause and allows compensation for the same. Physical pain often stems from physical injury. For example, you might feel pain if you fracture a bone, suffer burns, or if a sharp object punctures your tissues.
Mental Pain
Mental or psychological pain is an unpleasant feeling of non-physical origin. For example, you have mental pain if you are stressed, angry, moody, anxious, or depressed. Doctors do not understand the exact mechanism of psychological pain.
One theory is that you feel pain when your nervous system holds onto physical pain even after healing. Another theory is that psychological pain occurs when stimuli overwhelm or confuse the nervous system. Whatever the mechanism of mental pain is, the government recognizes its compensation after an accident.
Unfortunately, mental pain is harder to prove than physical pain. For physical pain, others can easily see the injuries and conclude you are in pain. For mental pain, you need a diagnosis by a mental health professional as evidence.
Diminished Life Quality
Quality of life is a subjective concept that describes your well-being and happiness. Factors that affect your quality of life include:
- Your hobbies
- Your physical strength
- The presence or absence of pain
- Your sense of security
- Your sense of contentment
- Your sense of freedom
- Your ability to enjoy the things you want to
An accident can affect nearly all of the above. For example, an accident that leaves you in a wheelchair limits the nature and number of sports you can participate in. Mental pain can interfere with your ability to interact and socialize with friends.
Thus, you deserve compensation if an accident prevents you from enjoying the quality of life you enjoyed before the accident. However, you must prove how your quality of life has dropped. For example, you cannot claim a reduced ability to enjoy extreme sports if you never enjoyed them in the first place.
For more info about personal injury law cases, contact a local professional.
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