Injury victims deal with many unpleasant situations following their accident, from medical treatment to lost work or physical discomfort. Serious injuries exacerbate these frustrations, potentially leading to emotional exhaustion, worry and sadness.
These emotions and other stresses, though difficult to prove, have a place in an insurance settlement.
Proving damages and losses
Insurance companies push back against pain and suffering compensation when there is no evidence or claim of an injury occurring. If you did not seek medical attention or receive documentation of an injury, your claim for pain and suffering has a lower chance of succeeding. The value associated with your losses directly relates to the extent of the injury. When dealing with an intangible loss, insurance companies use many reasons to devalue or undermine your claim of mental anguish and the impact it has on your life.
Showing the relationship to economic loss
Insurers use the value of economic loss from an injury to put a price tag on non-economic losses. Medical treatments, lost income and other expenses from the injury are easy to prove using receipts and documentation. With the multiplier method, your injuries receive a rating of one to five based on the severity of the condition and impact. A five typically indicates a catastrophic injury with permanent disabilities or ongoing expenses. Taking the injury rating and multiplying it by the expenses of medical care typically forms the value for pain and suffering.
Many insurance companies relied on computer algorithms or other formulas to determine intangible loss value. You can protect your settlement and improve your chances of receiving fair compensation with comprehensive documentation of your injury and related expenses.