A horrible car accident results into severe physical injuries, wage loss, mental anxiety, psychological trauma and medical expenses. Minor accidents usually do not cause such problems and the accident victims often get away with minor or even no injury. In case of severe injuries, the victims are awarded the just amount of compensation for medical bills and ‘pain and suffering’. But does it hold true if it is a minor accident? Let us inspect into the matter.
Even if it is a minor clash, your claim will include pain and suffering in its written draft.
In every case of car crash, the injured party files a lawsuit to get compensation for his medical expenses (which he pays primarily out of his pocket) and ‘pain and suffering’. Injury, especially if it is a serious one, can be easily proved by producing medical bills. But it is pretty difficult to prove pain and suffering. If the injury is a minor one, it becomes more problematic to provide proofs in support of such intangible damage. This article is meant to shed light on the issue of ‘pain and suffering’ in case of minor accidents.
Definition of Pain & Suffering
Pain and suffering is defined as the physical and/or mental stress caused in the aftermath of an accident and resulting injury. For instance, if a motorist is seriously injured in an accident, he is entitled to lodge a compensation claim for his physical injury and enduring the discomfort as well as any restriction on his lifestyle caused by the injury itself. The claimant will likely to recover money for stress and frustration over being disfigured or scarred permanently.
Pain & Suffering in Standard & No-Fault System
Most of the states in the USA follow a standard system of fault-based liability after an auto accident. According to the system, the person whose alleged negligence is supposed to have caused the accident is legally obliged to pay for all types of reasonable damages associated with the crash.
However, a dozen of states follow a ‘no-fault’ system. These states don’t allow you to make an injury claim if your medical expenses don’t cross certain limit. This limit is not same in all these 12 states. The no-fault system will also not let you file a personal injury claim for pain and suffering.
Calculation of Pain & Suffering
In a scenario where there is no specific rule to calculate ‘pain and suffering’, it is often exaggerated.
While calculating pain and suffering, the insurer takes into account the severity of physical injuries. According to their pattern of calculation, you will be eligible for more compensation if you are undergoing treatment for broken ribs or the likes. The serious and/or permanent nature of your injury is considered to be associated with more pain and suffering.
The insurers usually multiply the amount of medical expenses by any number between 1 to 5 for ‘pain and suffering’ calculation. You should visit latruckaccidentlawyers.com to know more about compensation claim for pain and suffering associated with minor injuries in car accidents.
