(ThyBlackMan.com) A vehicular collision can impact your life dramatically and seldom in a good way. You may never be the same after a car wreck, and they can happen so suddenly. It’s astonishing how much a few seconds can change the rest of your life from that moment forward.
If you’re in a car wreck, you might hear the legal term “pain and suffering” afterward. That’s a term lawyers often use to talk about not just physical damage you sustained in a car accident but also less tangible differences the crash made in your life.
We’ll speak more about that term right now. We’ll also talk about how you might be able to calculate what your pain and suffering are worth as you try to put the pieces back together after a serious car wreck.
You’re Not Alone When You Go Through This
It should interest you to know that about 2 million people injure themselves severely in car accidents every year. That’s another way of saying that you’re not alone in what you’re going through.
That might comfort you a little in the time right after a crash. This trauma happens more frequently than you might expect, and every day, individuals recover from car wrecks. It might not be easy, and it may take some time, but take courage in the fact that eventually, you should adjust to what happened and any injuries you sustained.
Collect as Much Physical Evidence as Possible
After a bad car wreck, reaching out to an attorney is probably the most vital thing you can do, next to filing an accident report with your insurance company. You’ll need an attorney on your side if you can’t get the money you need from your insurance provider, or else you might decide to sue the individual who you feel caused the wreck.
Your lawyer will work with you and collect as much physical crash evidence as they can. That includes the police report and your insurance company report. You’ll want any medical records about the crash.
You’ll want witness statements, friend or family member testimonials, if applicable, and any photos or videos from the crash site. It could be that someone was walking by using their smartphone’s camera, and you can use that footage to help get money from your insurance company or if you sue the other driver.
The more documentation you’ve collected, the easier it will be to put a dollar amount on your pain and suffering. You want to be very specific about medical bills since they are something tangible for which you can potentially receive compensation.
What About Other Expenses?
You’ll also want to keep track of any other accident-connected expenses. If you are suffering from PTSD after the wreck, you might have to see a therapist to talk about what happened. They will bill you, and you may try to get that money back from the other driver.
You might have various medications you have to take after the wreck. Maybe your doctor puts you on prescription pain meds for your injuries. Perhaps you need medical equipment as well, like a wheelchair, cane, walker, neck brace, etc.
You will also keep track of money that you’re not making because you can’t work while you are recovering. That’s lost income, and you can try to regain that as well.
Try to Come Up with an Appropriate Amount
At this point, if you and your lawyer either need to go after the other driver, the insurance company that refused to pay you, or both, you will have all the documentation you need. Now, you and your lawyer will come up with an amount that you might try to recover.
That dollar amount should seem reasonable enough so that if you have to take either your insurance company or the other driver to court, the jury will think it’s appropriate to award it to you. You should not seem greedy and demand some vast sum where you can’t show valid reason why you should receive it.
Your lawyer can help you in this area. They can cite precedent by going back and looking at similar trials to yours. If your lawsuit amount seems reasonable, you can expect to receive it. If the jury thinks you’re in the right, but you’re overreaching, they might award you a smaller amount.
The Intangibles
When lawyers use the term “pain and suffering,” though, it can get a little tricky. You know you can add up medical bills, lost wages, and therapy bills, and you can simply ask for that dollar amount. That might not take other pain and suffering considerations into account.
There are pain and suffering intangibles, such as your happiness loss after a car wreck. Maybe, if the crash injured you, you can’t do some of the things you once could. If you can’t walk or ride a bike anymore, you might face a deep depression because of that.
You’ll have to try to come up with an amount that makes sense based on these losses. They’re hard to calculate in terms of how much they’re worth to someone financially.
Virtually any jury, though, will agree that if a reckless driver hit you and now you can’t do many of the things you once could, they need to pay you for that. If your lawyer is very good at their job and can argue that your life quality is now very poor, you might see a substantial cash windfall.
You’ll need to use some of that to pay your lawyer, but you might still take home a lot of money in certain circumstances. You may not feel a lot like celebrating, though. The crash still impacted your life negatively, and you might never be the same again.
At least you can hold the proper entity responsible and collect money for your pain and suffering. Having that money will undeniably be better than not having it.
Staff Writer; Larry Washington
