If you file a personal injury lawsuit, you are likely looking to recover the economic and non-economic damages that you incurred in your accident. With this, one of the non-economic damages you may be seeking to recover is pain and suffering. Follow along to find out how pain and suffering is calculated and how one of the proficient Bergen County personal injury attorneys at McNerney & McAuliffe can help you in receiving your rightful financial compensation.
What is pain and suffering in a personal injury lawsuit?
Pain and suffering is a type of non-economic damage that can be claimed in your personal injury lawsuit. That is, you can claim this if you believe that you have had to endure significant physical and mental anguish following your accident that was due to no fault of your own.
Physical pain and suffering can be seen as the literal discomfort you feel with your injury. For example, you can claim that the discomfort that comes with your permanent loss of function or the impairment of a certain body part has inhibited you from carrying out the day-to-day activities you did before your accident. Or, you can claim that the discomfort you feel with your injury has inhibited you from providing love, affection, companionship, or services you did before your accident.
Mental pain and suffering can be seen as the emotional distress that you feel with your injury. For example, you can claim that you are experiencing emotional distress, whether it be embarrassment or depression, when it comes to your disfigurement or loss of consortium. Or, you can claim that you are no longer able to enjoy life in the same way you did before your accident.
How will pain and suffering be calculated in my personal injury lawsuit?
Notably, the New Jersey court will take a straightforward approach when it comes to calculating your economic damages. That is, they will rely on your medical bills, pay stubs, and other documents to calculate the net total of your economic damages.
But when it comes to non-economic damages, this approach is not doable. This is because there are no real documents or otherwise tangible evidence that the New Jersey court can reference to calculate the net total of your pain and suffering and other non-economic damages. So, they will usually rely on your testimony and any relevant witness testimony to decide on a fair and reasonable amount of financial compensation you can recover for your non-economic damages.
If you need help with building your testimony, or otherwise collecting witness testimony, then you must retain the services of one of the talented Bergen County personal injury attorneys. Our firm is ready and willing to use any legal strategy possible to ensure that you receive monetary compensation for your pain and suffering. Call us today.
