Does Car Accident Insurance Pay for Pain and Suffering?

Pain and suffering include all the non-physical discomfort felt after a car accident. They belong to the claims that are fully recoverable under your car insurance liability plan. The Clark Law Office can help you claim pain and suffering even when the insurance adjuster has its doubts.

Car accident liable parties always try to disregard payments for pain and suffering if a major physical injury doesn’t happen. The law gives people the right to claim recovery for pain and suffering if they had serious injuries caused by a car accident. It’s also a requirement for insurance companies to pay for such claims.

What Pain and Suffering Means?

People who want to understand why insurance companies are so strict when accepting pain and suffering claims should know better what these terms mean. Most of the time, the terms pain and suffering designate the emotional distress and physical inconvenience caused to a person due to a car accident. They have to be directly related to the physical injuries that this person went through, as shown in the medical records.

Pain may also be related to the actual feelings you have when you are injured. It’s not a tangible accident effect to prove in the court of law since pain is a subjective feeling that anyone can doubt without a clear way to prove its presence and grade. On the other hand, suffering has to do with the psychological burden incurred by the car accident. For example, people who get facial injuries after an accident can claim suffering since they cannot bear to look at themselves in the mirror. 

People who have been injured during a car accident should show to the court that their usual way of life has been radically changed. Being unable to go to work or maintain a normal social life would increase recovery. It’s the real meaning of suffering after a car accident with tangible effects on the social life you can present in court.

Which Are The Damages Paid From Your Auto Insurance Plan?

Every car accident is different from the other, and there is no general norm as to what a pain and suffering claim includes. The unique facts of your car accident claim and the severity of your injuries can allow you to claim a bigger recovery from auto insurance companies. 

It’s easier for insurance adjusters to claim the medical bills and lost wages since they can easily designate hard numbers. Undocumented losses like pain and suffering are harder to calculate and usually become a subject of settlement and negotiation between the two parties. It’s also frequent to see courts decide about the height of damage recovery for pain and suffering, especially when a massive and serious physical injury or permanent impairment has occurred to the plaintiff.

Insurance companies are a lot more trained to justify, acknowledge, and pay for tangible damages with direct monetary requirements like:

  • Hospital Bills: That could include the costs of your hospitalization, the drugs administered, any surgeries you have undergone, and the emergency handling of your case. 
  • Rehabilitation Costs: People with serious injuries after a car accident may need to enter a rehabilitation center for specialized care. It’s usually for people who have had a traumatic brain injury (TBI) due to a car accident and need the experts’ assistance to move again.
  • Loss of Income: After a car accident, injured people may not work for a reasonable time. Insurance companies will ask for your monthly paychecks before the accident to calculate the amount of recovery for the weeks or months you spent out of work. 
  • Reduced Earning Capacity: People who experienced a serious injury during a car accident may never return to their prior employment. Suppose the accident has taken away some physical skills they had before. In that case, the insurance company is liable to pay a sum for the estimated earnings of the person and the necessity to pursue a different career.
  • Pain And Suffering from Acknowledged Mental Illnesses: Many people who suffer from serious injuries due to a car accident end up being locked in their homes, fearing keeping on with their social life. At the same time, they may experience stress and discomfort. It’s a common mental condition known as post-traumatic stress and is eligible for recovery from insurance companies under the auto insurance liability plan. 

Your lawyer is the only person trained to prove your pain and suffering during the litigation process. That’s the only viable way to recover from your psychological damages- in some cases worse than the physical injuries.


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