When you get into an accident, the damages you suffer may extend further than just the property loss you experienced. You may have suffered a significant amount of time, or you may have had to lose opportunities as a result of the incident. When filing a claim for any type of accident, it is critical to define what all of your losses are. Pain and suffering is a type of loss in New York, and you may be compensated for it.
Keep in mind that this is one of the most difficult components of your claim to define and calculate. This is why it is important to work with a skilled New York personal injury attorneys such as our team at Siler & Ingber, LLP.
What Is Pain and Suffering?
The term pain and suffering provides some basic information about the losses you may have. It is an award of money given to you for any type of pain you experience – past and present, as well as into the future (such as long-term suffering). To be clear, this type of claim focuses on what you lost that may not have a monetary value. For example, a car accident causes damage to your car and results in medical bills. Your claim should cover those. But, the claim also needs to cover your pain. This may include the mental pain you suffer, such as emotional distress, humiliation, loss of enjoyment in life, and even shock.
Additionally, mental pain and suffering will also include suffered related to:
- Lack of energy
- Sexual dysfunction
- Depression
- Sleep difficulties
- Mood swings
In some individuals, a particularly tragic or traumatic experience can also create post-traumatic stress disorder, which may limit your quality of life. For example, you may find it difficult to drive again.
How Do You Obtain a Pain and Suffering Settlement?
Just like with any other type of medical loss, individuals must file a claim for the losses they suffer. Generally, this will be with the person who caused the incident to occur and his or her insurance company. It is essential to have some idea of what you may qualify to receive. Obtaining a pain and suffering settlement is not a guarantee; not all types of personal injury will result in a high dollar amount award here. Nevertheless, many people receive financial assistance.
How Much Can You Receive for Pain and Suffering Claims?
How much is that pain and suffering worth? In New York, there are no formal guidelines. That is, a judge does not tell the jury to award a specific dollar amount. Rather, the jury must decide what is fair. This creates a lot of room for concern and question when filing your claim. Also, New York does not place a specific limit on the amount of money you can claim.
Every situation is very different. However, one way your attorney can help you to determine what your settlement may be is to look at recent and older cases in New York with pain and suffering settlement awards. Here are a few examples (again, this may not be representative of what you will receive):
- In 2015, the Waring vs. Sunrise Yonkers SL, LLC case offers a bit of insight. In this case, a 22-year-old man, Anthony Waring, worked as a housekeeper at an assisted living facility. He suffered a significant back injury that eliminated his ability to go back to work. In this particular case, he was awarded $600,000 in pain and suffering. This was made up of $100,000 for his past pain (the suffering he had at the time of the accident). It also included $500,000 in pain and suffering damages for the future.
- In 1999, Linda M. Gilbert suffered exposure to vulgar talk and insults, pornographic messages and other losses from her male colleagues. In this case – which was a high profile case and remains one of the highest paid pain and suffering claims – Ms. Gilbert received $21 million. Of that, $20 million was for pain and suffering.
As you can see, the range of what you can obtain for your losses is extensive. There is no simple calculation method available (though there are some uses of a multiplier factor based on your medical losses).
Schedule a Free Case Review for Pain and Suffering Loss
Our New York personal injury attorneys will provide you with a free case review to discuss your case at length. This is the only way to get an idea of just how much your pain and suffering claim may be worth. With over 20 years of experience and a success rate of over 98 percent, you can depend on Siler & Ingber, LLP. Call us now at 1-516-294-2666 for use our online contact form to get more information about your case.