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People in Florida are injured every day. Often, they are hurt through no fault of their own. If another person causes your injury, you are usually entitled to seek compensation for your financial losses and physical harm by filing a claim with your or their insurance company. In addition to actual monetary damages, you could recover for your pain and suffering. However, insurance companies are not looking to pay large settlements and will rarely offer you enough money to cover the pain you have experienced. Jared K. Newman is a Fort Lauderdale personal injury attorney dedicated to fighting for the rights of injured people. In the following paragraphs, our knowledgeable attorney discusses how an insurance settlement offer is generally insufficient.

What Type of Damages Do Insurance Companies Compensate for if You are Injured in Florida?

Florida law entitles you to compensation for two types of damages when you are hurt in any type of accident due to the negligence of another party. The first is economic or financial damages. These are easy to understand because they include actual out of pocket expenses and lost income. You know how much money you have spent on medical bills, prescription medication, and what it will cost to restore any damaged property. Economic damages are typically simple to calculate – though you might not be aware of every recoverable expense.

The second type is non-economic damages, including intangible harm such as pain and suffering and the inability to enjoy life. These types of damages are difficult to quantify. Because of the subjective nature of the harm experienced, placing a dollar figure on them usually requires our experienced Hollywood, FL personal injury lawyer.

if you are injured, you can seek recovery for economic and non-economic damages in two ways – a claim against an insurance company or a personal injury lawsuit.

Pain and Suffering Compensation in Florida

Florida law recognizes two types of pain and suffering claims: physical and mental.

When you experience debilitating psychological effects such as humiliation, depression, anxiety, fear, or other emotional conditions that hinder your ability to function or enjoy your life, you are suffering from mental pain and suffering.

Physical pain and suffering stems from the bodily injury and trauma you experienced in your accident. It includes the discomfort and pain associated with any medical treatment you received and the recovery process, such as the strain you undergo during physical therapy. Physical pain and suffering also includes the inability to physically perform in the future because of the injuries you sustained.

Insurance companies will rarely take the time to thoroughly investigate the extent of the pain and suffering you have endued. Even though you are entitled to compensation for your pain and suffering, its subjective nature means it is difficult to calculate and it is easy to undervalue. You can prove your monetary losses through receipts and documentation. Establishing an amount for pain and suffering is not as straightforward. You will want to speak with our Hallandale Beach personal injury lawyer to discuss the value of your pain and suffering.

How Insurance Companies Calculate Pain and Suffering After an Injury in Florida

As stated above, putting a monetary value on your pain and suffering is not as easy as producing medical bills or other documented expenses. Pain and suffering damages are not only subjective; they are typically unique to each individual victim. Your ability to withstand pain or the time it takes you to recover from an injury could be significantly different from another person. This is important to understand when considering an insurance company’s settlement offer.

No rule or regulation tells an insurance company how to calculate pain and suffering when formulating a settlement offer. In some situations, a simple multiplier will be applied to the medical expenses incurred. For example, if you have a broken leg and have $4,000 worth of medical bills, an insurance company might multiply that figure by 2 to come up with a pain and suffering figure of $8,000. This type of calculation does not truly reflect the physical pain and mental distress an injured victim might experience. A traumatic accident could result in years of anguish that is substantially higher than a couple of times more than the actual medical costs.

Pain and Suffering in a Personal Injury Lawsuit in Florida

The most important fact regarding pain and suffering damages in a Florida personal injury lawsuit is that they are not capped. A jury could award significantly more financial compensation for your pain and suffering than your actual medical expenses. While an insurance company might use a simple calculation, our personal injury and car accident attorney in Hallandale Beach will look at numerous factors to quantify the pain you have endured.

Using statements from your healthcare providers and medical professionals to testimony from your friends and family, we will work to determine the overall impact the injury had on your life. You are not an equation, and your injury will have multiple effects on your life, well-being, and physical and mental condition. Every person individually deals with pain, and you deserve to be compensated for your sufferings, not through some general formula.

Call Our South Florida Personal Injury Attorney Before Accepting an Insurance Settlement for Pain and Suffering

if you are injured in an accident caused by the negligence of another party, you are entitled to be compensated for your financial losses and your emotional distress. Pain and suffering awards are often a substantial part of your total compensation. By pursuing an injury claim with our personal injury and car accident attorney in Hollywood, FL, you will likely be offered a substantially higher settlement from an insurance company, or we will fight for you at trial. To schedule a free appointment, call 954-495-8500.