When another’s negligence has injured you, you have the right to seek full compensation for the damage you suffered through a personal injury lawsuit. “Full compensation” entails more than simply having your hospital bills paid or your time missed from work reimbursed. A personal injury accident can cause physical, financial, emotional, and mental injuries, and you deserve to have all of these losses compensated.
For this reason, any comprehensive compensation award you receive through a personal injury case should contain both economic damages and non-economic damages. Economic damages represent losses whose value is objective and can be easily determined due to bills, invoices, or other records. Your hospital bills, lost wages, and damage to property are all examples of economic damages.
Distinguishing Non-Economic Damages from Economic Damages
Non-economic damages are those whose value is subjective and are, therefore, more difficult to ascertain. They are meant to compensate you for emotional and mental harm you suffered, such as:
- Having to experience physical pain and discomfort
- Anxiety or depression brought on by your injuries
- Not being able to enjoy life activities you once enjoyed
- Being unable to fulfill family obligations as a parent to your children or as a spouse
Unlike economic injuries, there are no bills, invoices, or schedules that can easily and irrefutably tell a judge or jury how much to award. You, your attorney, and the courts must place a value on these losses and support that value through other means.
How Pain and Suffering are Valued in Your Case
Your testimony and that of any witnesses will be the primary evidence judges and juries consider in awarding you damages for pain and suffering. Specifically, the testimony you present should show:
- The nature of the emotional and mental effects you are feeling and their severity
- How long you have been experiencing them and how likely it is you will continue to experience them
- What efforts you have made to address your symptoms and how effective those efforts have been
- How these symptoms and effects have changed your daily routine
The judge or jury hearing your case will also consider whether any witnesses can corroborate the effects you testify that you are feeling. Records from counselors or therapists may also be introduced to corroborate your symptoms and their persistence.
What an Attorney Can Do to Help You Get Pain and Suffering Damages
Keeping a journal of your thoughts and feelings can help you later seek non-economic damages, as can using the services of a skilled Missouri personal injury lawyer. If you have been hurt in a car accident or other personal injury accident in Hillsboro, turn to Wegmann Law for help. You can call our office (636) 797-2665 or visit us online.
Our experienced team will help you understand what your case is worth and will assist you in obtaining the full amount of compensation you deserve. Contact us and request your free consultation to discuss your case with our office.
