疼痛和遭受傷害的類型:身體、情緒和社交

After a person has been injured as a result of a traumatic event, such as a motor vehicle accident, nursing home abuse, or an assault due to negligent security, they often seek pain and treatment for damages in a personal injury claim.

Serious incidents often leave victims with multiple injuries that require long-term medical care, rehabilitation, counseling and other forms of support. Their injuries may impact daily life or have lifelong consequences that alter daily life and independence.

What is the difference between pain and injury

Pain and suffering damages extend beyond the objective costs associated with medical bills and lost wages. They are entirely subjective.

Injury victims have a responsibility to express their pain and its impact on their lives and well-being. The jury must then form an opinion on the merits of the case based on the victim's testimony and the opinions of jurists. A collective perspective on their pain and suffering.

However, evidence can help quantify the extent of an injured victim's suffering and the harm they deserve. Attorneys use medical records, photos, videos, diaries, and testimony to show the specific ways a person's life has been affected, both physically and emotionally.

Types of pain and suffering

Pain and suffering can affect a person's life in many different ways. Remember, in addition to a claim for economic losses (such as lost income and medical bills), you must also claim for pain and suffering damages.

We have divided examples of pain and suffering damages that a person can claim in a lawsuit into three categories: physical, emotional, and social.

physical pain and suffering

Bodily pain and suffering refers to external and visible harm to the body, as well as internal harm caused by an accident or incident. This type of aches and pains is best supported by photos, medical records, physical therapy notes, and medication history.

Bodily Pain: Any physical injury that causes mild to severe discomfort after an accident or altercation.

Physical Impairment: Any injury that limits the ability to move, coordinate actions, or perform daily activities.

Disfigurement: Accidents that cause permanent damage or changes to a person's body or appearance (such as loss of an ear or deep scarring) would be classified as disfigurement.

Emotional pain and suffering

Emotional pain and suffering refers to the impairment or change in a person's mental state or personality following an accident or traumatic event. These changes often leave victims feeling distressed, depressed, hopeless, or miserable. Emotional pain can be just as debilitating and frustrating as physical injuries.

Mental anguish: Mental anguish includes anxiety, depression, anguish, fear, sadness or lasting psychological trauma following an accident or incident.

Emotional distress: Like mental anguish, emotional distress can include many different feelings and types of pain and suffering following a traumatic event, such as shock, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), nightmares, and anger.

Fright: Any accident, event or injury that causes extreme fear and affects the life of another person may be eligible for Fright compensation.

Shock: The psychological damage caused by experiencing an accident or witnessing horrific injuries in an accident.

Phobia: Intense fear of further injury, disability, or death following an accident (may manifest as panic attacks).

Nervousness: A change in behavior or personality in which an injured victim becomes extremely uneasy or unnaturally nervous.

Worry: The incident causes fear or uncertainty that something bad might happen, limiting the victim's ability to live a normal life.

Anxiety: A general feeling or sensation of worry and uneasiness about uncertain events or outcomes. If anxiety stems from an accident or an argument, it can become a pain and suffering.

Humiliation: Feeling ashamed, injured self-esteem, or extremely embarrassed after a life-changing event (usually false imprisonment).

Embarrassment: Similar to humiliation, embarrassment is the feeling of shame and humiliation caused by an event or an incident that occurs afterwards.

Anger: Anger can be considered a loss if an event or incident results in ongoing anger due to severe mental anguish and suffering that did not exist before the event.

Grief: The deep sorrow or sadness that follows the loss of a loved one. If an accident results in the death, loss, or destruction of something or someone they value, they may be able to recover non-economic damages for grief.

Depression: If a person experiences a severe and sudden personality change that affects the way they feel, behave and think, they may be able to recover compensation for depression in a personal injury claim.

social pain and suffering

Social pain and suffering is when a victim experiences loss or suffering that is directly caused by another person or that results from an injury that negatively affects their social activities and relationships. This type of loss can cause a person to feel isolated, worthless, or a burden to others.

Humiliation: After an incident, a person feels humiliated, demeaned, and made to look stupid.

Insult: When a person's dignity and self-esteem are insulted or damaged following an accident or argument, an insult may be considered a form of non-financial harm. Examples of insults include vulgarity, abuse, abusive language, and deliberate disrespect by others.

Reputation harm: Defined when someone makes a false statement about a victim’s reputation that causes their friends, family, or community to have an unfavorable opinion of them.

Inconvenience: Victims may claim inconvenience as a type of pain and suffering if the event or accident causes difficulty, injustice, or interferes with the ability to carry out daily activities, work, or interact with loved ones.

Ordeal: A painful, traumatic, or frightening situation that lasts for a long time or lasts longer than expected.

Loss of Fun/Quality of Life: When an event significantly changes a person’s life or ability to participate in activities and hobbies that they enjoyed before the injury, they may be compensated for: Loss. For example, paralysis or traumatic brain injury may reduce a person's ability to enjoy life; therefore, they can claim a diminished quality of life.

Loss of Companionship: Also known as loss of consortium, this type of pain and suffering occurs when the victim loses the ability to express appropriate affection and care for their spouse and children.

Sexual Dysfunction: If a victim has difficulty returning to normal levels of sexual activity after an accident, they may experience sexual dysfunction as a form of pain and suffering.

How much compensation can you get for pain and suffering?

There are no predetermined amounts or guidelines for estimating the amount of pain and damage a victim may expect to suffer. Indemnity amounts, claim types and loss caps depend on the occurrence of the event .

A jury should award fair damages to a plaintiff suing for pain and suffering. If a judge decides that pain and suffering damages are too low or too high, they may modify the amount, although this is uncommon.

Contact a personal injury attorney for pain and suffering solutions

Solutions for pain and suffering are determined on a case-by-case basis. By consulting and hiring an experienced personal injury attorney.

Your physical pain and emotional pain should not be ignored. You deserve a top-notch settlement that takes care of you and your family.

To learn more about filing a personal injury claim for pain and suffering, contact a law firm.

Review

All comments are moderated before being published

HealthyPIG Magazine

View all
無人機醫療配送:低空經濟下的香港新契機

無人機醫療配送:低空經濟下的香港新契機

  無人機醫療配送:低空經濟下的香港新契機 —— 從健康、醫療金融到商業模式的全球比較與啟示 在香港「低空經濟」監管沙盒下,無人機由數碼港跨海至長洲醫院,約 12 公里航線僅需 18–20 分鐘,相比傳統 45–65 分鐘大幅提速。本文聚焦醫療價值、醫療金融回報與商...
醫管局普通科門診改名「家庭醫學門診」——香港基層醫療新里程?

醫管局普通科門診改名「家庭醫學門診」——香港基層醫療新里程?

  基層醫療 家庭醫學 健康政策 醫管局普通科門診改名「家庭醫學門診」:利與弊、國際比較與香港基層醫療的下一步 醫務衞生局宣佈由 2025 年 10 月 11 日起,將「普通科門診」與「家庭醫學專科門診」統一命名為「家庭醫學門診服務」,74 間普通科門診...
基孔肯雅熱:被伊蚊叮咬後的劇痛病毒 — 病毒、傳播、症狀與防治全解析

基孔肯雅熱:被伊蚊叮咬後的劇痛病毒 — 病毒、傳播、症狀與防治全解析

什麼是基孔肯雅熱? 基孔肯雅熱(Chikungunya Fever)是一種由**基孔肯雅病毒(Chikungunya virus, CHIKV)**引起的急性傳染病,屬於 Togaviridae 家族 Alphavirus 屬。這種病毒最早於 1952 年在坦桑尼亞被發現,其名稱來自當地馬孔德...
登革熱:全球爆發中的熱帶威脅與防護全解析

登革熱:全球爆發中的熱帶威脅與防護全解析

登革熱係乜嘢? 登革熱(Dengue fever)係一種由登革熱病毒(Dengue virus)引起嘅急性傳染病,主要經由伊蚊(Aedes mosquito)叮咬傳播,特別係白紋伊蚊(Aedes albopictus)同埃及伊蚊(Aedes aegypti)。呢啲蚊喺日間最活躍,因此唔似瘧疾嗰...
流感點樣會引致腦病變、心肌炎同休克?——從「感冒」變成致命風暴

流感點樣會引致腦病變、心肌炎同休克?——從「感冒」變成致命風暴

近排有新聞報導,一名原本健康嘅中學生感染乙型流感(Influenza B)之後,出現腦病變、心肌炎同休克,情況危殆。好多家長都會問:「流感唔就係普通感冒?點解可以嚴重到影響腦同心臟?」其實,流感背後嘅機制比我哋想像中複雜得多。 一、流感病毒唔止攻擊呼吸道 流感病毒(包括甲型同乙型)主要透過飛...
牛骨湯食譜大全|Instant Pot 壓力煲 & 傳統老火湯版本

牛骨湯食譜大全|Instant Pot 壓力煲 & 傳統老火湯版本

牛骨湯食譜係香港家庭常見嘅煲湯之一,牛骨湯香濃滋補,配合中藥材更具養生功效。本文介紹肉骨類選擇、牛骨湯建議配搭、常見中藥材分類,以及Instant Pot壓力煲與傳統老火湯版本食譜,並引用科學研究支持。
澳洲飲用水發現「食腦變形蟲」:全球風險與地區對策(含各國/各州實用指南)

澳洲飲用水發現「食腦變形蟲」:全球風險與地區對策(含各國/各州實用指南)

澳洲飲用水發現「食腦變形蟲」:全球風險與地區對策(含各國/各州實用指南) 澳洲飲用水發現「食腦變形蟲」:全球風險與地區對策(含各國/各州實用指南) 重點:事件本身不代表飲水會感染;主要風險來自水經鼻腔進入。 目錄 ...
如何判斷雞翅是否變壞?

如何判斷雞翅是否變壞?

重點摘要 雞翅會變質嗎? 如何判斷雞翅是否變壞? 過期雞翅還能食嗎? 雞翅可存放多久? 如何儲存雞翅? 雞翅可以冷凍嗎? 結論 雞翅會變質嗎? 會。皮脂較多、表面不潔或溫度過高時,細菌繁殖更快。 如何判斷雞翅是否變壞? 外觀:皮色發黃、出黑斑或血水。 觸感:表面黏滑、軟爛。 氣...
如何判斷雞蛋是否變壞?

如何判斷雞蛋是否變壞?

重點摘要 雞蛋會變質嗎? 如何判斷雞蛋是否變壞? 過期雞蛋還能食嗎? 雞蛋可存放多久? 如何儲存雞蛋? 雞蛋可以冷凍嗎? 結論 雞蛋會變質嗎? 會。殼面有微孔,溫差及濕度變化會令細菌入侵。 如何判斷雞蛋是否變壞? 水測:沉底=較新鮮;浮起=多半變壞。 打開觀察:蛋白渾濁水樣、蛋黃...