Calculating Your Pain & Suffering

The starting point for almost every pain and suffering calculation is what kind of medical treatment you had. Consequently, the primary elements that affect damages in a personal injury case are as follows:

• What kind of treatment did you have?
• How long did it take?
• How intense was it?
• What kind of restrictions did you have while you were in that treatment?
• What kind of restrictions did you have after you reached maximum medical improvement?
• And more…

Of course, the pain and suffering is going to be greater for a coma patient than for someone with severe whiplash. The coma patient was in the hospital unconscious for a couple of weeks while the whiplash patient went to urgent care, the chiropractor, and then was finished within a month.

As a result, evaluating the parts of your claim that are based on fact and come with a price tag help to paint a picture of the overall distress that you have been caused. However, just because an accident looked minor on the outside, it doesn’t mean that your claim should immediately lose value. This is one of the key reasons why working with an attorney is so important.

The Role Of Medical Experts

Depending on whether we settle the case or take it to a trial, our job at Mullins & Blake Attorneys is to make you as persuasive and believable as possible – whether that means making a case to the insurance adjuster or jury.

In any case, it’s always good to have a neutral objective opinion to back up your claims.  That’s where the medical professionals such as psychiatrists, psychologists, and physicians come in – because you can testify and an insurance adjuster or a jury may like you, but it always helps to have extra credible proof.

Determining the value of your pain and suffering in an injury claim happens by finding proof. And in these claims, it is the injured person’s job (or their attorney’s job) to prove everything. In short, the more proof, the more testimony, the more experts we have to back you up, the more credible your claims look, and the more likely you are to succeed in getting the compensation you deserve.

Witnesses: Strangers, Doctors, Spouses, & Children

The more names of witnesses and contact information you provide, the more credible your claim becomes. You also help your case when you communicate your concerns to your healthcare professional, and they properly document these concerns in your records, stating what restrictions you need to observe. (Then, of course, you must observe these restrictions.)

Your spouse and children can also act as witnesses if they observe you after the car accident, recognizing what you could do before but can’t do now because of the accident. All of these things add to your testimony when calculating your pain and suffering.

Pain & Suffering: Past, Present, And Future

Past, present, and future pain and suffering are all included in the calculations of damages… but what does this mean?

If you will need future surgery for a skin graft or an amputation, then that comes with future pain and suffering that should be valued as part of your claim. That’s why we are diligent in seeking out more information from you, from your medical records, and from any document that you can provide to prove your case.

We are warriors for you and you supply us with ammunition in the form of information. The more information we collect in our arsenal, the more we’re able to demonstrate your pain and suffering damages, and find you financial security so that you focus on healing.

Limits For Pain & Suffering In The State Of Arkansas

While there have been past attempts to limit the amount that can be awarded for pain and suffering, Arkansas is one of the states that does not have a cap on non-economic damages.  There is no limit either through case law or any state laws on the amount that can be awarded for pain and suffering.

Therefore, insurance companies will always try to pay only as much as they think the jury would make them pay at trial. However, you never have to accept an insurance company’s compromised settlement offer.  If you are not happy with it, then you always have the right to have us file the lawsuit and take your case to court.

Calculating Your Emotional & Mental Suffering

Proving emotional or mental suffering depends on seeking out mental health professionals such as psychologists, psychiatrists, and therapists. These professionals can…

• Keep a record of your concerns:
  • How often you experience pain & suffering
  • How intense it is when it flares up
  • What it is relieved by
• Document your anxiety and your experience with your injury
• Function as a professional medical witness for you when it comes time to testify in court
• And more…

To take your case as far as possible, we rely on credible medical professionals to document the intensity and severity of your injury. That is why we advise you to seek out treatment, go through that recommended treatment, and communicate with your doctors about what you can and cannot do.

For example, if you are experiencing severe PTSD from a car accident, we’re never going to advise you to cut your treatment short.  We want you to have access to a mental healthcare professional for as long as you need. This care, however long-term it may be, is something that we will work to have covered by calculating it into your claim.

With the guidance of a skilled attorney for Personal Injury Law Cases, you can have the peace of mind that comes with knowing that we’ll make it look easy.  For more information on Personal Injury Law in Arkansas, an initial consultation is your next best step. Get the information and legal answers you are seeking by calling (479) 337-7077 today.