In a case for personal injuries in Connecticut, the injured party may be able to collect both economic damages and non-economic damages.
Economic damages include past and future medical expenses, lost income and property damage. These damages are easy to quantify since there are usually records, bills and invoices. Think of these damages as “out of pocket expenses.”
Non-economic damages are subjective and harder to quantify. Think of these damages as “quality of life damages.” Pain and suffering falls into this category.
Pain and suffering consists of all mental and physical injuries that an injured party has experienced as well as compensation for those injuries that can be reasonably expected to occur in the future. For example, inconvenience, mental anguish, emotional distress and the inability to live one’s life as they previously did.
Factors in calculating pain and suffering awards include:
The likelihood that the pain is really an aggravation of a pre-existing injury rather than a “new” injury;
The impact that the injury has on daily life such as activities that cannot be performed without discomfort or the possibility that certain pursuits simply cannot be enjoyed at all;
Life expectancy;
Occupation and income;
The character of the claimant – sympathetic or unlikable;
The insurance company of the person causing the injury.
There is no precise formula to determine pain and suffering. However, pain and suffering is always an important aspect in fully evaluating the proper compensation in a Connecticut personal injury case.
Please contact me to discuss your Connecticut personal injury case.