Latest Blogs

If you have been injured in an accident, filing a claim for pain and suffering provides an opportunity to seek proper compensation above and beyond the financial costs of your injuries. However, proving your pain and suffering requires thorough documentation, and you must also demonstrate the extent to which you deserve to recover for these non-financial losses.

Both of these factors make it critical to have an experienced Fort Myers accident lawyer from Spivey Law Firm, Personal Injury Attorneys, P.A. on your side.

While you should not try to handle your pain and suffering claim on your own, it will be helpful for you to learn a little bit about what it takes to recover these additional damages in a personal injury claim. With this in mind, here is a brief introduction to what you need to know about seeking financial compensation for your pain and suffering if you have been injured in an accident in Florida.

Understanding What Constitutes “Pain and Suffering” in Florida

First, we will cover what it means to experience “pain and suffering” after an accident. Broadly, this term covers the physical and emotional effects of living with a traumatic injury (or complications from a traumatic injury) on a daily basis. If you are in constant pain, if you experience pain with certain movements or when performing certain activities, or if you are struggling to cope emotionally with the changes to your day-to-day life, these are all losses for which you may be entitled to financial compensation.

Traumatic injuries affect everyone differently, and different people deal with pain and suffering in different ways. Ultimately, if you have a personal injury claim, it is your pain and suffering that will determine how much you are entitled to recover. We cover some of the factors involved in calculating “just compensation” for pain and suffering in greater detail below.

Documenting Your Pain and Suffering After an Accident

Regardless of the severity of your pain and suffering, you will not be able to recover any financial compensation for these losses unless you can prove them. This makes documenting your pain and suffering extremely important.

There are several ways to document your pain and suffering after an accident. When you hire a Fort Myers accident lawyer at Spivey Law Firm to represent you, there are also several steps your lawyer will take to prepare your claim to present to the insurance companies (or in court if necessary). Some of the steps you can take to document your pain and suffering include:

• Keeping a log of your pain levels when you wake up, when you go to bed, and at various points throughout the day
• Writing down all of the activities that cause you pain or that you are unable to perform because of your injuries
• Writing down all of the family and social events that you miss because of your pain or your injuries
• Taking photos or videos of your injuries, your wound care, and the injuries’ day-to-day effects on your life
• Writing down the names of your friends and family members who may be able to provide statements or testimony regarding how your life has changed since the accident

These are just examples. Anything you can do to document your pain and suffering will be helpful, and if you can get into the habit of documenting the effects of your injuries on a daily basis, this will be just a small part of your day. When you sit down with an experienced Fort Myers accident lawyer, your lawyer will be able to provide additional tips as well.

Calculating “Just Compensation” for Your Pain and Suffering

With thorough documentation of your pain and suffering in hand, your lawyer will be able to take the next step of determining what constitutes “just compensation” for these non-financial losses, keeping in mind that you may continue experiencing pain and suffering for months, years, or decades to come. There is no specific formula for calculating pain and suffering damages in Florida. Instead, damages are determined on a case-by-case basis, taking into account factors such as:

• The severity of the accident
• The severity of the victim’s injuries
• The severity of the victim’s pain and suffering
• How long the victim is likely to experience pain and suffering
• The total out-of-pocket cost of the victim’s injuries

Applying these factors will allow your lawyer to determine a reasonable range of potential compensation amounts. You can then work with your lawyer to seek a settlement at the top of this range (along with compensation for your other financial and non-financial losses), and, if necessary, your lawyer can fight for a judgment at the top of this range in court.

Other Non-Financial Losses You May Be Eligible to Recover

If you are entitled to financial compensation for your pain and suffering after a vehicle collision or another accident in Florida, you may be entitled to financial compensation for various other non-financial losses as well. Other types of non-financial damages that are generally available to accident victims in Florida include compensation for:

• Permanent scarring and disfigurement (whether due to injuries or surgery)
• Emotional trauma and post-traumatic stress from the accident
• Loss of consortium, services, and support
• Loss of companionship and society
• Loss of enjoyment of life

All of these can have a significant impact on your daily life, and they can all add significantly to the value of your personal injury claim. When you hire an experienced Fort Myers accident lawyer at Spivey Law Firm to represent you, your lawyer will ensure that he or she is seeking just compensation not only for your pain and suffering, but for your other non-financial losses as well.

Get the Help You Need from an Experienced Fort Myers Accident Lawyer Today

Attorney Randall Spivey has practiced law in Florida for over 30 years and has focused his practice exclusively on helping those who are injured by the negligence of others or corporations. He utilizes his decades of experience and compassion to guide his team at Spivey Law Firm to fight for the rights of his clients. Mr. Spivey is Board Certified in Civil Trial Law, an expertise shared by only 1% of all attorneys in the state of Florida. Randall Spivey is also AV rated for the highest rating from Martindale-Hubbell for ethics in the practice of law.    

Do you need to know more about your legal rights after an accident in Florida? If so, we invite you to contact Spivey Law Firm, Personal Injury Attorneys, P.A. for a free, no-obligation consultation. To get the help you need from experienced Fort Myers accident attorney Randall L. Spivey, call us at 239-337-7483 or toll-free at 888-477-4839, or tell us how we can contact you online at SpiveyLaw.com today.