What Influences Pain and Suffering Awards in Toms River and Freehold, NJ?
In New Jersey, even the most cautious people sometimes are injured in an accident. When that happens, it can wreak havoc on your normal day-to-day and even your capacity to provide for your family. If you’ve been injured in an accident that was the fault of someone else’s negligent or reckless behavior, it’s important that you seek the support of an experienced personal injury attorney to recover financial damages for your injury. A personal injury attorney will help you negotiate a settlement that includes financial repayment for medical expenses you incurred, out-of-pocket costs to support your recovery, lost wages that occurred due to your injury, and even the psychological toll the injury took on your mental and emotional wellbeing. Accurately accounting for this intangible effect of the injury on your health is a nuanced process that a skilled personal injury attorney can navigate with ease and grace, so you have the financial security you need to ensure a full recovery on the physical, mental, and emotional levels. Read on to learn more about key considerations for determining pain and suffering in New Jersey personal injury cases.
If you have questions about what influences the pain and suffering damages you may be entitled to in New Jersey, contact Chamlin, Uliano & Walsh for a free consultation at (732) 440-3950.
Key Factors for Determining Pain and Suffering
There is no set means of determining a monetary amount for pain and suffering in New Jersey law. As such, insurance companies and personal injury attorneys use different methods to determine the burden placed on a victim of an accident in such non-economic ways and convert that into a financial payout. The most common methods for assigning a value to pain and suffering are the multiplier method and the per diem method.
According to the frequently used multiplier method, a victim’s insurance company or attorney gathers the complete cost of the injury, including medical expenses, lost wages, and out-of-pocket costs (all of which, together, are called ‘special damages’ because they result specifically from the injury) and multiples them by between 1.5 and 5, depending on the severity of the accident and injury and its likelihood to impact the victim into the long-term future.
In the per diem method, one assigns a monetary value to the victim’s daily suffering, which usually is around a daily wage, and multiplies that by the number of days the victim is expected to physically suffer from their injury.
Does the Duration and Extent of the Sufferer’s Injuries Matter?
In order to calculate how long a person might suffer or how severe their injury is and thus, their long-term likelihood of suffering, an insurance company or personal injury attorney considers factors such as the full calculable financial damages that you incurred as a result of the injury, as noted above; whether your injury is permanent or will adversely affect you for the future; whether there was scarring or other long-term disfigurement; and whether the accident itself was tragic and likely to cause Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).
Loud Silence of Non-Economic Damages Behind Personal Injury Cases
As any injured person knows, you can’t put a price on suffering. There is so much happening beneath the material surface in an accident that it is essential to consider the mental, emotional, and continuing physical limitations that an accident causes. Medical bills, out-of-pocket costs, lost property values, and unpaid time spent away from work simply don’t cover the true costs of an accident.
As non-economic damages, pain and suffering damages are difficult to qualify. Accident victims know, however, that there are many more consequences of an accident than simply the medical expenses, damaged or destroyed property and lost wages. Ongoing physical pain, severe fatigue, mental anguish, insomnia, loss of enjoyment of life, and post-traumatic stress are all non-economic factors that are considered in awarding pain and suffering damages.
Ways to Demonstrate Pain and Suffering
In order to maximize your chances of recovering full damages for your pain and suffering following an accident, it is important to document everything. Just as you want to keep close track of all money you’ve spent in out-of-pocket costs associated with your injury and clearly file your medical and property expenses, you’ll also want to keep a close note of your mental and emotional state as you undergo your recovery. Keeping a daily journal of your physical pain rates, stress levels, and sleep will help a qualified personal injury attorney get you the fairest settlement for your injury.
With organized and detailed records and a personal injury lawyer’s sound counsel, as well as their capacity to communicate on your behalf with insurance agents who have other agendas, a personal injury attorney is an invaluable asset to make sure that you are financially covered for the full extent of your recovery, so you can focus on healing.
A Proven New Jersey Personal Injury Lawyer can Help You Assess and Prove Pain and Suffering to Get the Compensation You Deserve
If you or someone you love has been injured in an accident that was someone else’s fault, the personal injury lawyers at Chamlin, Uliano & Walsh are here to help you with determining and seeking the fullest extent of financial compensation for the life-altering ramifications of your injuries. Our legal team successfully represents clients across Red Bank, Howell, Colts Neck, Neptune, Freehold, Rumson, Little Silver, and elsewhere in Monmouth County, Ocean County, and surrounding areas to obtain the amplest settlements for economic and non-economic losses.
Contact us at 732-440-3950, toll-free at 888-328-9131 for a free consultation to discuss damages and the proper way to proceed with your injury claim.