Making a Pain and Suffering Claim in an Illinois Personal Injury Suit
Understanding how pain and suffering is proven can help injured individuals recognize the evidence that may support compensation for the physical and emotional effects of an accident.
Injuries in personal injury claims often go much deeper than a person’s purely physical condition. The impact an injury can have on someone’s quality of life cannot be overstated. A person injured in an accident may experience the effects of their injuries through lost wages, missed major life events, and emotional, psychological, and physical challenges.
Legally, one term often used to describe some of these non-economic consequences is pain and suffering. Pain and suffering after an accident can be significant and may sometimes be compensated as part of a personal injury claim.
However, parties should not assume that compensation for pain and suffering is guaranteed simply because an accident caused physical or emotional hardship. Just as an injured person may need evidence to establish physical injuries and financial losses, they may also need evidence demonstrating the impact of pain and suffering.
If someone else’s negligence caused your injuries, you may have the right to seek compensation for non-economic damages related to pain and suffering. However, proving pain and suffering can be less straightforward than proving a broken bone, medical bill, or damaged piece of property.
So, how do you prove pain and suffering, and what does Illinois law say about this issue? This article begins a general discussion of these questions. For formal advice and legal counsel regarding your own circumstances, contact the experienced legal team at Patel Law, PC.
Quick Answer: How Is Pain and Suffering Proven?
Pain and suffering is generally supported through evidence showing how an injury affected an individual’s physical condition, emotional well-being, daily activities, relationships, and overall quality of life. Medical documentation, expert opinions, testimony, personal records, and other evidence may all play a role depending on the circumstances of the case.
What Is Pain and Suffering?
Pain and suffering generally refers to the physical pain or emotional hardship a person experiences as a result of an injury. These types of damages are often described as non-economic damages because they may not come with a simple receipt or invoice showing their value.
For example, medical treatment for a broken bone may produce bills and records documenting the financial cost of treatment. Pain, emotional distress, and changes to a person’s daily life can be more difficult to quantify because those consequences may not have a direct price.
Examples of Pain and Suffering
Depending on the circumstances of an injury, pain and suffering may involve physical, emotional, and personal consequences.
- Chronic or ongoing physical pain
- Emotional distress
- Depression or anxiety related to an injury
- Loss of enjoyment of normal activities
- Disfigurement or physical changes
- Loss of companionship or consortium in applicable circumstances
Even though these consequences do not necessarily have a direct financial cost, an injured person may seek monetary compensation for qualifying non-economic losses in a personal injury case.
Can You Make a Pain and Suffering Claim in Illinois?
In appropriate personal injury cases, an injured person may seek compensation for pain and suffering. However, the ability to pursue compensation is not the same thing as a guarantee that compensation will ultimately be awarded.
The injured party generally needs to present evidence supporting their claims and demonstrate how the accident and resulting injuries affected their life. The available evidence, the severity of the injuries, disputes regarding causation, and other circumstances may all affect the outcome of a claim.
Seeking Compensation Does Not Guarantee Recovery
A personal injury claim generally requires evidence supporting the damages being requested. Insurance companies and opposing parties may challenge whether an injury occurred, whether it was caused by the accident, and the extent to which the injury affected the person’s life.
How Pain and Suffering Damages May Be Evaluated
Unlike economic damages, there is generally no single fixed formula that automatically determines the value of pain and suffering in every Illinois personal injury case.
The value of non-economic damages may involve a degree of judgment and evaluation by insurance companies, attorneys, judges, or juries. The circumstances of each injury can be different, and several factors may be considered when evaluating the impact of an accident.
Explore the factors: Scroll horizontally to view each consideration.
Evidence Used to Prove Pain and Suffering
Pain and suffering may not be proven in exactly the same way as a broken bone or a medical expense. However, an injured person may present evidence showing how their injuries affected their physical condition, emotional well-being, and everyday life.
Depending on the circumstances of a case, evidence supporting pain and suffering may include:
- Medical records and doctor’s notes: Documentation may show the nature of an injury, reported symptoms, treatment, and continuing physical limitations.
- Prescription and treatment records: Medication records, therapy records, and other treatment documentation may provide evidence regarding the ongoing effects of an injury.
- Psychological evaluations or counseling documentation: In appropriate circumstances, professional records may help document emotional or psychological effects connected to an injury.
- Personal journals: A journal may document pain levels, limitations, missed activities, and the day-to-day impact of an injury.
- Witness or expert testimony: Family members, friends, medical professionals, and qualified experts may sometimes provide testimony regarding changes an injury caused in a person’s life.
Why Medical Records Can Be Important
Medical documentation can provide evidence regarding the injuries diagnosed after an accident, the symptoms that were reported, the treatment provided, and the progress of recovery.
These records may also help establish a timeline connecting an accident with later physical symptoms or limitations. Depending on the circumstances, treatment records may become especially important when an insurance company or opposing party disputes whether certain injuries were caused by the accident.
Consistent Documentation Can Help Tell the Story of Recovery
Medical records created throughout the recovery process may help demonstrate whether symptoms improved, remained consistent, or developed into longer-term limitations.
Can Personal Journals Help Support Pain and Suffering?
A personal recovery journal may provide another way to document how an injury affects everyday life. Unlike a medical record, a journal may capture experiences that occur between appointments and may help describe limitations that are difficult to communicate through medical bills alone.
Depending on the circumstances, journal entries may discuss pain levels, difficulty sleeping, missed family events, changes in hobbies or activities, mobility problems, emotional struggles, or other consequences of an injury.
What a Recovery Journal Might Document
A journal may record how pain changes over time, activities you are unable to perform, medical appointments, sleep difficulties, missed work, changes in family responsibilities, and other ways an injury affects everyday life.
How Witnesses and Experts May Help
Other people may sometimes provide evidence regarding the effect an injury has had on someone’s life. Family members, friends, coworkers, and other people who regularly interact with an injured person may have observed changes in mobility, behavior, activities, work ability, or daily routines.
Depending on the case, medical professionals or other qualified experts may also provide testimony regarding the nature of an injury, expected recovery, future treatment needs, or other issues relevant to a claim.
Why Documentation Can Be Important
Documentation can help connect the accident, the injury, and the consequences experienced afterward. The more clearly the available evidence demonstrates how an injury affected someone’s life, the easier it may be to understand the basis for the damages being requested.
Insurance companies and opposing parties may question the severity of injuries or whether particular physical or emotional symptoms were caused by the accident. Maintaining relevant records can therefore become an important part of presenting a personal injury claim.
Preserve Evidence as Your Recovery Continues
The effects of an injury may change over time. Continuing medical records, treatment documentation, personal observations, and other evidence may help establish how an injury developed and affected your life throughout the recovery process.
How Can a Personal Injury Attorney Help?
Pain and suffering claims can involve questions about medical evidence, causation, the severity of an injury, and how an accident affected everyday life. An experienced personal injury attorney can help evaluate the available evidence and identify information that may be relevant to the damages being pursued.
An attorney may also assist with communicating with insurance companies, reviewing settlement offers, preserving important evidence, and explaining the legal issues that may affect a personal injury claim.
Frequently Asked Questions About Pain and Suffering Claims in Illinois
What does pain and suffering mean in a personal injury case?
Pain and suffering generally refers to physical pain, emotional distress, and other non-economic consequences associated with an injury and its effect on a person’s life.
Can medical records help prove pain and suffering?
Medical records may provide important evidence regarding injuries, reported symptoms, treatment, physical limitations, and the course of recovery after an accident.
Can emotional distress be included in pain and suffering?
Depending on the circumstances of a case, emotional and psychological consequences associated with an injury may be relevant when evaluating non-economic damages.
Is there a fixed formula for pain and suffering damages in Illinois?
There is generally no single formula that automatically determines pain and suffering damages in every case. The value may depend on the specific injuries, evidence, recovery period, impact on daily life, and other circumstances.
Should I speak with an attorney about pain and suffering damages?
An experienced personal injury attorney may be able to review the circumstances of your accident, evaluate available evidence, and explain the legal options that may be available based on your specific situation.
Contact Patel Law, PC
An experienced Champaign personal injury attorney at Patel Law, PC can help you assess your circumstances and discuss the options that may be available as you move forward with a personal injury claim.
Pain and suffering damages can involve complicated questions about evidence, injuries, and how an accident has affected your life. Contact Patel Law, PC today to discuss your circumstances with our legal team.
Questions About Pain and Suffering Damages?
Understanding how pain and suffering is evaluated and supported can be an important part of preparing a personal injury claim.
The legal team at Patel Law, PC can discuss the circumstances of your case and help you better understand the options that may be available to you.
Call Patel Law, PC
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Sources
CBS News Chicago – Bedford Park Crash Lawsuit
Lawsuit Information Center – Illinois Personal Injury Verdict Information
