{"id":30827,"date":"2024-01-18T17:59:24","date_gmt":"2024-01-18T17:59:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.solutionhow.com\/?p=30827"},"modified":"2024-01-26T18:01:08","modified_gmt":"2024-01-26T18:01:08","slug":"the-human-element-of-pain-and-suffering-compensation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.solutionhow.com\/en-us\/education\/the-human-element-of-pain-and-suffering-compensation\/","title":{"rendered":"The Human Element of Pain and Suffering Compensation"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Pain\"

Pain<\/p><\/div>\n

You may have heard the term \u201cpain and suffering\u201d before. The meaning seems obvious, but you should understand that it has a particular connotation in court. Pain and suffering in a courtroom usually means what someone experienced if they bring a personal injury lawsuit against another person or entity.<\/p>\n

Someone can do this with a lawyer\u2019s help. If they bring a personal injury lawsuit, maybe they\u2019re doing it because a doctor harmed them, and they\u2019re alleging that medical malpractice occurred. A car wreck may bring a lawsuit of this nature. A construction site accident, dog bite, or slip and fall in a store or on a sidewalk may apply.<\/p>\n

Many negligence claims have two-year limitation statutes<\/a>, though this depends on the state where the incident occurred. This means someone who believes another person or entity harmed them must file a lawsuit within the appointed time. Otherwise, they can\u2019t get the money they think they should receive.<\/p>\n

Courtroom dramas can play out in various ways, and often, the defendant will settle if they think they\u2019re going to lose the case. If a jury decides, the defendant must usually pay more money than they would if they believe settling makes more sense.<\/p>\n

What juries see in court doesn\u2019t always explain or quantify what pain and suffering truly mean, though. Let\u2019s talk about the human element behind this seemingly innocuous term.<\/p>\n

What Pain and Suffering Mean Away from a Courtroom<\/h2>\n

Let us discuss a typical personal injury lawsuit situation for a moment. For this article\u2019s sake,\u00a0we\u2019ll say someone drove drunk<\/a>\u00a0and sped through a red light. They T-boned another car and severely injured the driver. That driver sustained damage that required surgery.<\/p>\n

This relatively common scenario will play out in a courtroom. The defendant\u2019s lawyer might tell them they should settle, but that\u2019s always the defendant\u2019s choice. They may wait for a jury\u2019s verdict if they feel they have some defense that can fully or partially excuse their behavior.<\/p>\n

The jury might see the plaintiff sitting by their lawyer wrapped in bandages. Perhaps they\u2019re walking with a cane or wearing a neck brace. They\u2019re not using these props and getting sympathy with them. They genuinely need them because they sustained catastrophic damage when the other driver hit their car.<\/p>\n

Away from a courtroom, the injured party might spend many nights not sleeping or sleeping only briefly. Maybe they usually sleep on their stomach, but they can\u2019t do that because their injuries prevent it. They might only consume a liquid diet while their broken jaw heals. Perhaps they can\u2019t work or go out for walks around the neighborhood like they could before.<\/p>\n

What Else Doesn\u2019t a Jury See?<\/h2>\n

The judge, jury, defendant, and even the plaintiff\u2019s lawyer might see this individual\u2019s distress. They may see them enter the courtroom walking stiffly, or perhaps they require a wheelchair during the trial. They can sense this person\u2019s pain, but they\u2019re not experiencing it themselves.<\/p>\n

Away from court,\u00a0this person might experience depression<\/a>\u00a0because they can\u2019t work at the same job anymore. Maybe their job meant a lot to them, and they don\u2019t feel like themselves if they can\u2019t work. Perhaps they\u2019re in therapy now because they feel worthless or unfulfilled.<\/p>\n

Maybe they don\u2019t have the same intimacy with their spouse or significant other that they did before. They might like riding their bike, playing tennis, or swimming, but they can\u2019t do those things.<\/p>\n

Additional Frustrations Outside the Courtroom<\/h2>\n

Before, maybe the plaintiff had a busy social life. Now, they don\u2019t see their friends as much because they\u2019re not very good company. Perhaps the car accident victim puts on a brave face, but they can\u2019t quite mask the sadness inside them. If the doctors say they\u2019ll never fully be the same again, despair probably describes their condition accurately.<\/p>\n

Speaking of doctors, the plaintiff probably has many doctor\u2019s appointments now. They may spend time in clinics or hospitals.\u00a0They might get many X-rays<\/a>\u00a0or MRIs. If they never got an MRI, they may not like it very much. If they\u2019re claustrophobic, maybe sliding into that tube instills panicky feelings they must fight.<\/p>\n

They may spend time doing painful physical therapy. That might last for weeks, months, or even longer. They may feel bored and restless spending time around the house. They will likely envy their more able-bodied friends and family members who can go outside and engage in all kinds of activities.<\/p>\n

Juries Must Help These Individuals<\/h2>\n

Someone who experiences pain and suffering likely wants\u00a0money after a personal injury lawsuit<\/a>, and most juries agree they deserve it. The jury members might not understand what\u2019s happening in this person\u2019s life, though, if they have not experienced something similar.<\/p>\n

Perhaps the plaintiff can get up on the stand and give a victim impact statement. If they can articulate what their life has become, they may get more money than they otherwise would. If not, their lawyer must make their case for them. If the plaintiff hired a lawyer to convince a jury they must make this situation right, then perhaps the money they award the victim will make them feel somewhat better.<\/p>\n

Some judges, juries, and even lawyers can\u2019t comprehend the real pain and suffering, the physical sensations that the victim experiences. They likely don\u2019t know about the mental and emotional anguish, either. That\u2019s what the term pain and suffering encompasses. They\u2019re small words that don\u2019t fully convey what some victims experience if they live through a major accident or negligence incident.<\/p>\n

If the jury does at least realize or believe the defendant acted maliciously or recklessly, then hopefully, they will make the appropriate decision. The money they reward the victim will not remove their pain, but it will balance the scales a little.<\/p>\n

Hopefully, most jury members will never experience what a plaintiff does who went through a terrible accident. If they haven\u2019t experienced it, though, they may at least have the imagination to comprehend everything they must rectify.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

You may have heard the term \u201cpain and suffering\u201d before. The meaning seems obvious, but you should understand that it has a particular connotation in court. Pain and suffering in a courtroom usually means what someone experienced if they bring a personal injury lawsuit against another person or entity. Someone can do this with a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":19785,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false}}},"categories":[163],"tags":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"yoast_head":"\nThe Human Element of Pain and Suffering Compensation - SolutionHow<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.solutionhow.com\/en-us\/education\/the-human-element-of-pain-and-suffering-compensation\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The Human Element of Pain and Suffering Compensation - SolutionHow\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"You may have heard the term \u201cpain and suffering\u201d before. 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