Yes. “Pain and suffering” covers the pain accident victims endure and the emotional trauma they experience. These factors are usually considered in the amount on an injury settlement check.
After a Fremont collision, a skilled car accident lawyer can help you secure support for pain and suffering. These very real hardships should be compensated fully.
What Are Pain and Suffering Damages in a Fremont Car Accident Case?
After a frightening impact on a busy route like I-880 or Mowry Avenue, victims can be left to suffer with major injuries. An at-fault driver would need to accept responsibility for all the medical expenses coming out of the accident.
Victims should also receive financial compensation to help them pay their living expenses. They’ll often be unable to work and support themselves and their families while they work.
However, the consequences of a serious accident often go beyond the hospital bills and lost paychecks. Victims may have to deal with lingering pain and mental trauma that sometimes follow a collision and extend through a difficult injury rehabilitation.
Pain and suffering is a legal term that is meant to represent the non-economic damages that result from a personal injury accident.
Pain Compensation: It can be hard for car accident victims to communicate the level of pain they deal with each day. They may suffer through a few months of daily pain while recovering from a broken bone. But in some cases, the pain stays with them for months or years. The Cleveland Clinic reports that pain lasting 3 months or more after an injury is considered “chronic pain.” This pain can affect a patient’s daily routine, such as family life and sleep. An injury can lead to arthritis years down the road. Head trauma may leave behind headaches or neck pain. Victims may need medication and/or physical therapy to manage this pain over a lifetime. These hardships must be factored into any car accident settlement. Victims should never be left to deal with long-lasting pain alone.
Emotional Trauma Compensation: Pain and suffering also cover the mental anguish victims may be exposed to. A shocking car crash can cause these and other emotional tolls:
- The moment of impact. Victims may go into shock after witnessing and living through a scary collision. Later, PTSD symptoms could cause victims to constantly relive the accident in their minds.
- Medical care. Victims may have to go into emergency surgery or endure the stress of a painful procedure to get a broken bone lined up correctly. The pain and anxiety caused by this care may cause further mental anguish.
- Long recovery. A difficult recovery may be mentally taxing. But the rehabilitation phase is also troubling for the life moments that can’t be experienced for weeks or months. That can include the hobbies victims may have to give up due to injury, at least temporarily. Victims may have to sit out family activities and trips due to a major injury. They may have to seek out new careers if a permanent disability prevents them from returning to their old jobs. Victims may have to fight off depression and anxiety as setbacks in care occur. They may lose intimacy with their spouses and partners. These devastating side effects deserve full compensation from car insurance companies.
Your attorney can help you place a value on pain and suffering and other losses you suffer. Your attorney should be working with doctors and mental health experts to determine the support you need currently and the financial help you may need down the road. Then, your attorney should file a claim and demand the maximum in compensation to help you overcome pain and regain your mental wellbeing.
Talk Over Your Case With a Fremont Car Accident Attorney for Free!
If you suffered a serious injury in a car accident and a careless driver was to blame, a lawyer may be able to help you earn much more in an accident claim than you could earn for yourself. Contact Maison Law Accident & Injury Lawyers of Fremont to schedule a free, confidential consultation with a real Fremont car accident lawyer. We want to hear what happened to you.
Keep in mind that you don’t have any savings to afford powerful legal representation. If you need our help earning what’s fair, we don’t get paid unless we win your case for you. Then our pay comes out of the settlement check an at-fault driver’s car insurer must pay you.