Pain and suffering are a type of damages that you can receive following a Kentucky car accident. If you have been injured in a car collision, Kentucky allows you to obtain economic recovery from the at-fault driver who caused the collision. Economic recovery is called “economic damages” in personal injury law.
In addition to economic damages, you may also receive non-economic damages.
Calculating Pain and Suffering
The jury decides whether or not you are entitled to pain and suffering. They will do this by considering the nature of your injuries, whether or not it is certain that you will continue to experience pain and the severity of this pain, and the length of time that your doctors expect you to be in pain.
Physical Pain
The law considers the discomfort you experience after a car collision, but your attorney will also need to factor in the pain that you may experience in the future.
Mental Pain
Mental pain and suffering are also part of this equation. It is any negative emotion that you experience because the at-fault driver caused your collision.
Economic Damages
Economic damages are one type of damages that you can receive from your pain and suffering. These are relatively straightforward damages that your attorney can easily calculate because they are financial. These include the costs that your family must incur to transport you to your medical appointments if you are unable to drive. They also include lost wages if you missed work following the collision and your hospital bills. They will be any financial losses you incurred that are directly related to the collision.
Medical losses include the following:
• In-home services
• Medical devices
• Consultations with healthcare professionals
• Ambulance fees
• Physical therapy
• Cognitive therapy
Non-Economic Damages
Non-economic damages relate directly to pain and suffering, and they can include any of the following:
Physical Pain or Physical Trauma
If you are receiving pain therapy or pain treatment for several months or years or throughout your entire life, you would be entitled to receive non-economic damages for pain and suffering.
Insomnia and Grief
The inability to enjoy a good night’s sleep. Grief is the emotion you would experience because of the loss of a family member.
Emotional Pain
If you developed a mental illness because of your collision or because of experiencing a difficult recovery, non-economic damages will apply. This includes post-traumatic stress disorder, depression, anxiety or other mental illnesses.
A Lower Quality of Life
A permanent disability or the loss of a limb can be tragic. It makes life much more difficult and causes difficulties daily.
Less Joy in One’s Life
After losing a limb in a car accident, the victim can no longer take part in hiking, biking, jogging or other physical activities.
Loss of Consortium
After a serious car accident, the relationship between a husband and wife may be harmed. For example, they may not be able to enjoy the sexual relationship they enjoyed before the car collision. The relationship between the victim and other members of the family may also be damaged.
Punitive Damages
Punitive damages are a type of non-economic damages. Non-economic damages focus on providing monetary compensation for the harm you received from a car collision. Punitive damages may be levied against a plaintiff if the court wants to punish the individual or company and discourage others from acting in the same way. Your attorney would need to demonstrate that the plaintiff acted with the intention to harm you.
Property Damages
After a car collision, you would also be entitled to economic damages for the loss of your property. In most cases, you will file a claim with the at-fault driver’s insurance company for monetary compensation for your vehicle.
