When you are injured due to someone else’s negligence, Virginia law allows you to sue for pain and suffering. It is important for victims filing a lawsuit to understand exactly what “pain and suffering” means, how courts calculate pain and suffering damages in Virginia, and the most effective strategies for proving pain and suffering.
Working with a skilled Virginia Beach personal injury attorney from Shapiro, Washburn & Sharp will ensure that you understand your rights and help you pursue fair financial compensation for your damages. Call us today to schedule a free consultation.
What Constitutes Pain and Suffering In a Virginia Beach Personal Injury Case?
The phrase “pain and suffering” describes a wide variety of emotional and physical injuries victims may experience following a serious accident. Common examples of pain and suffering include:
- Physical pain: This includes both chronic pain that lasts well after the initial injury and acute pain, caused by injuries such as burns and broken bones.
- Scarring and disfigurement: Disfigurement, like visible scars, can serve as a lasting reminder of your accident, leading to self-consciousness and emotional trauma.
- Depression and anxiety: It is not uncommon for personal injury victims to struggle with depression and anxiety after their accident as they attempt to deal with disability, pain, an inability to work, hospital bills, and an uncertain future.
- PTSD: Some common symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder include night terrors, flashbacks, intrusive thoughts about the incident, and extreme anxiety.
- Mental trauma: Mental trauma often involves uncontrollable bouts of worry, fear, anger, grief, mood swings, humiliation, and disturbed sleep patterns.
- Decreased quality of life: Victims may pursue damages for losing the ability to participate in exercise, social activities, hobbies, and other activities they enjoyed before their injuries restricted their options.
How Does Virginia Calculate Pain and Suffering?
It is challenging to assign a value to a damage as intensely personal as pain and suffering. In Virginia, the courts use one of two methods to calculate pain and suffering. They are:
- Multiplier method: This method calculates pain and suffering by multiplying measurable, economic damages, such as lost wages and medical bills, by a factor between 1.5 and 5. The more severe or permanent your injuries are, the higher your multiplier will be.
- Per diem method: This process assigns a daily value to each day the victim lives with pain and suffering caused by their accident. For instance, if your assigned value is $200 a day, you would then multiply $200 by the number of days between your injury and your trial date or maximum medical improvement.
In the absence of a fixed formula, insurance carriers and lawyers often reference similar past cases to guide courtroom arguments or settlement negotiations.
Are Pain and Suffering Damages Available in All Virginia Beach Personal Injury Cases?
Anytime someone causes an avoidable injury, victims can suffer both emotionally and physically. An experienced Virginia Beach personal injury attorney will work diligently to secure pain and suffering damages for victims who have been injured in accidents such as:
- Car accidents
- Tractor-trailer accidents
- Motorcycle accidents
- Rideshare accidents
- Bicycle accidents
- Pedestrian accidents
- Boat accidents
- Slip-and-fall and premises liability cases
- Dog bites and other animal attacks
- Defective products
- Dangerous drugs or cosmetic products
- Medical malpractice
- Nursing home neglect
- Catastrophic injuries
How Will You Prove My Pain and Suffering?
Showing the full extent of your pain and suffering involves crafting a convincing argument about how your injuries have negatively impacted your life.
Strong evidence that can prove your pain and suffering includes:
- A daily diary that details your struggles, symptoms, pain levels, and ways your life has been impacted
- Statements from relatives and close friends about the changes they have observed in your moods and ability to function
- Videos and pictures taken before and after your that show how you have been forced to change your life
- A therapist’s records that document mental health issues and treatment plans
- Prescriptions
- Hospital records and medical bills that show the full cost and severity of your injuries and medical treatment
Thorough documentation of your injuries, symptoms, and treatments from day one can go a long way in building a strong pain and suffering claim. A knowledgeable personal injury attorney can help you gather the necessary proof to demonstrate the full extent of your pain and suffering to an insurance company or jury.
Are Pain and Suffering Damages Capped in Virginia?
A lot of states set limits on how much money a victim is allowed to recover through a personal injury claim. Fortunately, Virginia does restrict pain and suffering damages in these cases.
Keep in mind that anyone bringing a medical malpractice lawsuit will be subject to a limit on their total award, not just pain and suffering losses. Consult a trusted Virginia Beach personal injury attorney to find out if any other restrictions might apply to your case.
What Is the Filing Deadline for a Virginia Pain and Suffering Claim?
If you decide to pursue pain and suffering damages, it is important to remember that the state’s statute of limitations imposes a strict deadline for doing so. In most circumstances, any legal action against the negligent party must be initiated no later than two years from the day the injury occurred. If the deadline expires, your case will be thrown out, and you will be barred from collecting any financial compensation whatsoever.
Partnering with a trusted Virginia Beach personal injury attorney can help you safeguard your claim by ensuring that all filings are completed on time. Getting an attorney involved early on in the legal process also gives them time to conduct their investigation while witnesses’ memories and evidence are still clear.
All We Do Is Injury Law
Although pain and suffering can be challenging to explain and quantify, these invisible consequences of personal injuries often have some of the longest-lasting effects. At Shapiro, Washburn & Sharp, our Virginia Beach personal injury attorneys know how difficult life can seem after being injured due to someone else’s carelessness. Our law firm has been advocating on behalf of injured clients since 1985. Let us put our skills and extensive resources to work for you, just as we did for the family of a retired senior whose death was caused by medical malpractice when we achieved a $1.3 million wrongful death settlement.
To schedule a free case review, call us at (833) 997-1774 or reach out through our online contact form. To better serve our clients, we have offices in Virginia Beach, Hampton, Portsmouth, and Norfolk.
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