Truck accidents often cause considerable property damage and devastating injuries due to the massive size and weight of the average commercial truck compared to a passenger vehicle. As a result, it is often the occupants of the passenger vehicles involved in a truck accident who suffer the most severe injuries.
If you were seriously injured in a truck accident, a successful personal injury lawsuit will ensure that you recover the maximum damages you are entitled to, including pain and suffering. While these damages make up a significant portion of a truck accident settlement, the process of calculating those losses can be more complicated.
A highly skilled Virginia Beach truck accident lawyer will help you navigate every step of the claims process, determine who is responsible for causing the accident, and ensure that you are compensated for your losses, including physical injuries, property damage, and the pain and suffering you endured as a result of the accident.
What Is Pain and Suffering?
In any personal injury case, whether it is a truck accident, a car accident, or a slip and fall accident, two types of damages may be awarded. “Economic” damages are the financial losses you suffered as a result of the harm that the negligent party caused. This may include medical expenses, lost wages, and property damage. “Non-economic” damages are the intangible losses caused by an injury. They do not have a specific monetary value, but they can have a significant impact on your quality of life. For example, “pain and suffering” damages may include the following:
- Physical pain: This includes the acute pain that you may experience from a broken bone, a severe burn, or a serious laceration, as well as chronic pain that you continue to experience long after the initial injury has healed.
- Mental anguish: Truck accidents can be extremely traumatic, often resulting in catastrophic injuries and massive property damage. Truck accident survivors may experience a range of mental health issues, including fear, grief, anxiety, and depression.
- Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD): In extreme cases, truck accident victims may suffer from a range of PTSD symptoms, including flashbacks, panic attacks, nightmares, severe anxiety, and uncontrollable thoughts about the accident.
- Loss of enjoyment of life: The physical injuries, mental anguish, and the ongoing struggle to deal with the trauma can make it difficult to participate in daily activities, hobbies, social engagements, exercise, and other activities that you once enjoyed.
- Disfigurement and scarring: If you have visible scars or permanent disfigurements like amputations, this can be a constant reminder of the accident. The emotional anguish and self-consciousness can make it difficult to get past the trauma associated with the accident.
How Do I Prove Pain and Suffering?
To prove the pain and suffering you have experienced as a result of the truck accident, you will need to present as much compelling evidence as possible to demonstrate how the truck accident and your resulting injuries have impacted your life. The following are examples of evidence that can help prove pain and suffering:
- Medical records showing the extent of your injuries and the costs associated with your treatment.
- Copies of medications you were prescribed to manage your pain.
- Records from your mental health provider documenting your symptoms, specific issues you are struggling with, and the recommended treatment.
- A daily journal that provides details about the physical and emotional symptoms you have been dealing with, and how your life has been impacted since the truck accident.
- Testimonies from friends and family members about the changes they have noticed in your mood and your ability to function daily.
- Photos and videos from before and after the accident that show how your quality of life has changed since the accident.
What Factors Determine the Value of Pain and Suffering Damages?
While ‘economic’ damages can be easily quantified by collecting medical bills, copies of pay stubs, and receipts for the damage to your vehicle, ‘non-economic’ damages like “pain and suffering” are more ambiguous. Yet, they can amount to a significant amount of money. There are several factors that insurance companies will consider when determining the total value of pain and suffering damages, including the following:
Severity of your injuries.
The more severe your injuries are, and the longer the recovery time is, the more potential for increased pain and suffering damages. Permanent injuries like scarring and disfigurement often result in greater financial compensation.
Impact on your daily life.
If your injuries affect your ability to perform daily tasks, go to work, maintain relationships with family and friends, and enjoy hobbies, this can diminish your quality of life. This can significantly impact the value of pain and suffering damages.
Emotional and psychological trauma.
If you suffer from PTSD, severe depression, anxiety, or other mental health issues that prevent you from being able to function daily, this may increase the pain and suffering damages you are entitled to, particularly if your mental health professional can provide a detailed report about your mental state.
The medical treatment and the expenses involved.
The extent of the medical care necessary to treat your injuries and how consistent you are in following the treatment protocol can impact the pain and suffering award. If there are gaps in treatment or if you fail to attend follow-up appointments, the insurance company may argue that your injuries are not severe, which may impact the credibility of your claim and the damages you are awarded. It is highly recommended that you get statements from surgeons, neurologists, physical therapists, and other specialists who can speak to the severity and complexity of your injuries.
Duration of recovery.
Longer recovery periods, chronic pain, and extended rehabilitation will likely increase the pain and suffering damages.
Pre-existing conditions.
If you have a pre-existing condition that was exacerbated by the truck accident, or introduced a range of new and potentially chronic health complications, this may affect the amount of total pain and suffering damages.
How Are Pain and Suffering Damages Calculated in Virginia?
If you have been severely injured in a truck accident in Virginia, you must recover the maximum financial damages you are entitled to, including ‘economic’ and ‘non-economic’ damages. While economic damages are easy to quantify, assigning a dollar amount to non-economic damages like pain and suffering can be challenging. There are several methods used to calculate pain and suffering damages in Virginia, including the following:
Per diem method.
This assigns a dollar amount to each day you experience pain and suffering as a result of the truck accident. For example, if a dollar amount of $200 per day is assigned, this is multiplied by the number of days from the date of the accident to maximum medical improvement or trial.
Multiplier method.
This takes the quantifiable economic damages, including medical expenses and lost wages, and multiplies them by a number, generally between 1.5 and 5. The more severe and debilitating the injury, the higher the multiplier.
Comparative analysis.
Your experienced truck accident lawyer will also conduct a comparative analysis to determine whether there are precedents from similar cases that can be used to gauge the potential compensation for pain and suffering. This method helps understand how the courts in Virginia have historically valued certain injuries, and what factors have the greatest influence on the award amount. This information can be used to negotiate the best possible settlement outcome.
While many other states place a cap on the amount of pain and suffering damages a victim may recover in a personal injury claim, there is no cap on these damages in Virginia.
What Is the Statute of Limitations for Filing a Pain and Suffering Claim?
Another important thing to keep in mind is the deadlines for filing a pain and suffering claim after a truck accident. In Virginia, there are strict “statutes of limitations” in place for personal injury claims. For your claim to be approved, allowing you to recover the damages you are entitled to, you must file your claim within two years from the date of the accident. If your claim is filed after the statute of limitations expires, your claim will likely be denied, and you will be unable to recover any damage, including pain and suffering. An experienced truck accident lawyer will work closely with you to ensure that your claim is filed well before the deadline passes.
A Virginia Beach Truck Accident Lawyer at Anchor Legal ® Pursues Maximum Pain and Suffering Damages for Truck Accident Victims
If you were seriously injured in a truck accident, do not hesitate to contact a Virginia Beach truck accident lawyer at Anchor Legal. We will help you navigate every step of the claims process, ensure that your legal rights are protected, and pursue the maximum damages you are entitled to, including pain and suffering. To schedule a free consultation, call today at 757-LAW-0000 or contact us online. Located in Virginia Beach, we proudly serve clients in the surrounding areas.