What Legally Qualifies as Pain and Suffering in Delaware?
Pain and suffering is one of those terms that is thrown around a lot with Delaware personal injury cases, but something that not everyone is sure how to define. Due to the subjective and personal nature of suffering or pain, this can be one of the hardest damages to prove after a major accident. You may have heard that witness testimony is important, but this may not always be enough to prove these damages. Consider talking to a Delaware personal injury attorney to explore what other evidence you need.
MOST COMMON EXAMPLES OF PAIN AND SUFFERING
Before you can prove your pain and suffering damages, you need to know what they mean and when you could qualify for them. Most people already know that pain and suffering means physical or mental pain along with a period of suffering, which could also be physical, mental, or both. However, pain and suffering could also mean:
- Mental decline caused by pain
- Severe discomfort
- Emotional distress and trauma
- Inconveniences caused by your injuries
- Anguish
Some of these terms may be hard to figure out in terms of whether you fit their requirements because of how subjective they are. Consider contacting an experienced Delaware personal injury lawyer to go over your case to see which of these you could fit. A lawyer will also be able to help you collect the evidence needed to prove the pain and suffering damages that best fit your situation.
TYPES OF PAIN AND SUFFERING
There are several different forms of pain and suffering that being aware of can make proving your damages easier. A lawyer can guide you but having some pre-knowledge about the types of pain and suffering damages that exist helps. The main types of pain and suffering damages include:
- Physical pain and suffering
- Future pain and suffering
- Mental pain and suffering
Physical pain and suffering involves proving the level of physical pain you experienced from your injuries. Unlike other damages, proving physical pain is not as difficult and may not always require concrete evidence. This is usually proven with your testimony and may involve testimony or statements from a medical professional.
Future pain and suffering is trickier and may simply involve testimony from a medical expert. What makes this one hard is proving the length of future pain and suffering. This type can involve mental or physical pain along with loss of ability to work.
Part of proving mental pain and suffering requires conveying vivid sensations to the jury of what you felt during and after the accident. This may also involve mental distress caused by physical pain, shock, and trauma-associated mental disorders.
PERSONAL INJURY ATTORNEY IN DELAWARE
Long-term pain can drain a person after years of healing from a past injury. Try talking to a Delaware personal injury lawyer if you endured pain and suffering after a major accident. Contact Edelstein Martin & Nelson at (302) 295-5050 for a free consultation today. Depending on what happened, you could be offered compensation for your medical bills, pain and suffering, and lost wages.
