How much for pain, suffering, and inconvenience?

Pain and suffering damages in California are the compensation plaintiffs could receive in certain personal injury lawsuits due to the mental anguish and physical pain they suffer due to an injury.

These are a form of compensatory damages that are in a category of “non-economic damages” that also include other damages such as loss of enjoyment of life and loss of consortium.

If you were injured because someone else was negligent, you could file for pain and suffering compensation in court.

There is no established set of standards by which a jury or judge can determine a fair and reasonable damage award for personal injury cases.

Rather, a plaintiff, through his personal injury lawyers, will typically present evidence of physical pain and emotional trauma and a decision is made on a “reasonable” amount of money for the damages.

Frequently, to assist them in estimating pain and suffering losses, a multiplier method is used by the plaintiff’s lawyer, which is a number between 1 and 5, with the more severe suffering represented by a higher number.

As an example, a higher multipler is applied in personal injury cases where there is long-lasting medical treatment, severe injuries with broken limbs, a substantial reduction in quality of life, and loss of income due to a permanent disability.

There isn’t a limit on the amount of compensation for pain and suffering and other types of economic losses.

After experiencing a personal injury, you may be dealing with ongoing physical, mental, and emotional issues that affect your ability to live a normal life.

If you’re not sure if there are any options for recovering non-economical damages, we’ve written up some resources here.

WHAT IS PAIN AND SUFFERING UNDER CALIFORNIA LAW?

Pain and Sufferness (P&S) refers to non-economic losses, which include pain and discomfort, emotional distress, inconvenience, loss of enjoyment of life, and similar types of harms. These types of losses may not be quantifiable in terms of dollars.

It includes experiences, loss, or inconveniences such things as:Anxiety,Shock,Scarring,Disfigurement,Psychological trauma,Emotional distress,Grief,Humiliation,Loss of an organ or limb,Loss of enjoyment of life,inability to enjoy pleasant thingsLoss of family.

It may be important to note that various types of emotional distress including embarrassment, crying, not sleeping, depression, post- traumatic-disorder (PTSD), and humiliating experiences do count as pain and suffering under state law.

You can be compensated for emotional distress if you don’t have an accompanying physical injury.

Confusion often arises when there is a dispute between parties regarding whether a plaintiff may be compensated for non-economic damages. This results in the creation of state laws which address this issue.